Moving towards a Common Approach to

Environmental and Social Standards for UN

Programming

8 July 2019

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND...................................................................................................................... 3

OVERVIEW OF THE MODEL APPROACH .................................................................................................................. 6

MODEL APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL STANDARDS FOR UN PROGRAMMING ........................... 12

I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................................................................... 12

II. OPERATIONALIZING THE MODEL APPROACH ............................................................................................................ 17

A. Screening, Assessment, and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts .................... 17

B. Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability ........................................................................................... 23

III. THEMATIC AREAS OF THE MODEL APPROACH .......................................................................................................... 28

Thematic Area 1: Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Sustainable Natural Resource Management ..................... 28

Thematic Area 2: Climate Change and Disaster Risks ................................................................................... 33

Thematic Area 3: Community Health, Safety and Security ............................................................................ 36

Thematic Area 4: Cultural Heritage ............................................................................................................... 40

Thematic Area 5: Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement .................................................................... 44

Thematic Area 6: Indigenous Peoples............................................................................................................ 51

Thematic Area 7: Labour and Working Conditions ........................................................................................ 56

Thematic Area 8: Pollution Prevention and Resource Efficiency ................................................................... 63

ANNEX. MODEL APPROACH SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL .......................................................................................... 66

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Introduction and Background

1. This document presents key elements of a proposed Model Approach to Environmental and Social

Standards for UN programming (henceforth the Model Approach). The Model Approach represents a

key step in moving towards a common approach among UN entities for addressing environmental and

social standards in programming.

2. The Senior Officials of the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) agreed in September 2016 to

establish a new work stream under the “Consultative Process on Advancing the Environmental and

Social Sustainability in the UN system” (Consultative Process) to consider options for moving towards

a common approach to environmental and social standards for programming. This work stream builds

on the results of a pilot project conducted in 2015, with seven UN entities testing the utility of the

Framework for Advancing Environmental and Social Sustainability in the United Nations System

(henceforth the Sustainability Framework) and the related Interim Guide which recognized the need

for the “UN system to internalize the internationally agreed norms of the sustainability agenda ….

through a common framework for environmental and social sustainability, including through

safeguards, risk management, institutional learning, capacity-building, simplification, coherence and

transparency.”

3. Robust environmental and social standards (e.g. safeguards) and related accountability mechanisms

(e.g. grievance mechanisms) aim to ensure that development and humanitarian actors are held to the

principles they proclaim and that interventions do not result in inadvertent harm to people and the

environment. They support a human rights-based approach that is transparent, inclusive and

participative so that no one is left behind. They also reflect that even with good planning and best

intentions, unanticipated impacts and conflict may still arise, so accountability mechanisms need to

be in place to receive and respond to grievances from people affected by UN-entity programming.

4. Greater alignment of environmental and social standards across UN entities will strengthen policy

coherence and improve collaboration with governments and other national counterparts in country

level programming.

5. In recent years, a number of UN entities have put in place or have started to adopt environmental and

social standards for programming. This is a positive development, but it also presents a challenge for

ensuring policy coherence at the country level. The UN system needs to ensure not only that its

environmental and social programming standards are based on relevant international agreements

and conventions, but also that it avoids multiple interpretations of what this means in the context of

programming. Coordinating and consolidating UN entities’ efforts to this end and ensuring greater

alignment would support delivery of the following benefits and objectives:

◼ Delivering as One: Ensure normative principles of the UN are consistently operationalized

through programming, at the country level in particular, and prevent the risk of implementing

varying standards at the country level.

◼ Communication: Allow the UN/UN Country Teams (UNCTs) to collectively communicate to

partners (e.g. at Country level partners, civil society, vertical funds) to explain how we are

applying a common approach and moving towards greater alignment.

◼ Fit for Purpose/SDGs: Demonstrate the UN system is ‘walking the talk’ and integrating the

SDG agenda into the way we work and applying the UN normative framework.

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◼ Efficiencies: Enable the use of shared trainings, tools, rosters and guidance, benefitting from

relevant expertise from across the system.

◼ Access to Financing: Help ensure continued access to financing that is increasingly tied to

environmental and social standards and accountability policies (e.g. Green Climate Fund,

bilateral donors).

◼ Joint Programming: Facilitate the use of common standards and tools in the context of joint

programming.

◼ Collective Learning: Support a collective learning approach to the application of

environmental and social standards in UN programming.

6. The Sustainability Framework and Interim Guide provide a strong basis for a harmonized approach by

outlining several minimum requirements related to ensuring environmental and social screening,

assessment and management measures for programming. In addition, the following elements provide

a strong basis from which to build a common approach:

◼ UN Normative Framework: Environmental and social standards need to be based on the UN

international legal and normative framework. Given UN leadership in setting such normative

principles, it is critical that the UN system adhere to them in its own activities and that they are

operationalized through UN programming. This is consistent with the UN's commitment to

support country partners to implement their duties and obligations under international

conventions and agreements, including human rights, international labour standards and

international environmental treaties and agreements.

◼ UNSDCF Guiding Principles: The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation

Framework (UNSDCF) Guidance and its guiding principles (leave no one behind; human rights-

based approach; gender equality and women’s empowerment; sustainability; resilience; and

accountability) provide an important starting point. While not all UN programming occurs at the

country-level or through the UN Development System, these guiding principles provide a strong

basis for greater alignment.1

◼ Best Practice and Lessons Learned: Environmental and social standards for programming have

been applied by the multilateral development banks for decades. More recently a range of UN

entities have also developed and are implementing similar standards. Reviewing these

standards, along with those of key multilateral donors such as the Global Environment Facility

and the Green Climate Fund, provide a strong basis of best practice and lessons learned from

which to develop the Model Approach.

Process and Methodology

7. The work stream for developing the proposed Model Approach under the Consultative Process is co-

chaired by UNDP and IFAD. Members of the interagency drafting group include FAO, ILO, UNEP,

UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNOPS, UN-Habitat, and WFP, supported by a consultant.

1 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, June 2019.

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8. A comparative analysis of existing environmental and social standards of participating UN entities

(FAO, IFAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNOPS) identified specific areas of commonality and

differences in the content and scope of safeguard requirements. The normative basis for key

safeguard-related thematic areas was identified and the safeguard requirements of other

international entities were reviewed.

9. Building upon these findings, key principles and proposed benchmarks across a range of thematic

safeguard areas (see Box 1) were identified and summarized in the draft Model Approach. Expertise

within the UN system also helped to inform and shape the proposed Model Approach.

10. Key considerations for the proposed Model Approach include the following elements:

◼ Flexibility: Ensure flexibility to allow for differing mandates, governance structures, operating

modalities.

◼ Utility: Help UN entities that already have standards to identify/fill gaps and also provide a basis

for entities that are just starting the process to develop them. The purpose of a Model Approach

is neither to develop a framework for verbatim adoption by each entity nor to replace what

already exists.

◼ Specificity: To be meaningful, needs to ensure a level of specificity that goes beyond statements

of principle to setting out benchmark standards.

◼ Phased Approach: To be applied initially by interested entities through a time-bound voluntary

phase, followed by a report back on lessons learned to refine and scale up.

◼ Relevance: Needs to be relevant for both development and humanitarian sides of the UN

system, contributing to delivery of the SDGs and to the “New Way of Working.”

◼ Framing: Reflects the UN system’s existing commitments to apply environmental and social

standards, with a renewed focus on strengthening alignment.

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Overview of the Model Approach

Purpose

1. The proposed Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards aims to strengthen the

sustainability and accountability of UN-entity programming and to improve policy coherence and

collaboration with governments and other national counterparts in country-level programming. It

seeks to respect rights and to protect people and the environment from potential adverse impacts of

programming interventions and to ensure that stakeholders have ample opportunities to actively

participate in programming and have effective channels to voice their concerns. It seeks to ensure

that leading requirements relating to promoting human well-being and the protection of the

environment are integrated in the definition, preparation and implementation of country

programming by the UN entity aligning with the Model Approach.

2. Increasing alignment with the

benchmarks of the proposed Model

Approach will support and strengthen

more harmonized approaches among

UN entities and application of good

international practice regarding

environmental and social sustainability

and risk management. Adherence to the

Model Approach benchmarks will also

further assist partner countries in

fulfilling national and international

commitments and obligations.

3. The Model Approach presents a set of

common benchmarks and processes

across a range of environmental and

social thematic areas that are typically

addressed by entity-level safeguard

policies (see diagram). Individual UN

entities, on a voluntary basis, would seek

to align their environmental and social

standards with those of the Model

Approach, consistent with their

mandates, corporate systems for

programme and risk management as

well as other related corporate policies and commitments, including those on environmental and

social sustainability. The proposed Model Approach as such is not a prescribed policy framework

and its benchmark standards in themselves do not establish grounds for defining compliance and

accountability, which must be established through entity-specific mandatory policies and procedures.

4. The Model Approach is not intended to define the substantive outcomes and results orientation of

UN-entity programming, as this is determined by the mandates and strategic frameworks of each

organization. Instead, through alignment with the benchmarks outlined in the Model Approach, the

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UN entity would seek to strengthen achievement of targeted positive outcomes and to improve

management of environmental and social risks and impacts.

Scope

5. The benchmark standards outlined in the Model Approach are intended to be applied principally in

the context of country programming of the UN entity. Across the UN system, programming activities

may be defined in different ways and the UN entity would need to stipulate the procedures and

mechanisms by which it intends to address the benchmark standards herein. For the purposes of the

Model Approach, programming is generally understood as supported activities with defined results

and resources over which the UN entity has significant organizational influence. “Projects” and

“programmes” are typically the entry points where environmental and social safeguard policies and

procedures have been applied. However, other modalities may be utilized for addressing the

benchmark standards of the Model Approach in supported activities, such as environmental and social

management systems, corporate sustainability policies and management practices, and standard

operating procedures.

6. The UN entity, per its mandate, would ensure that supported activities are prepared and implemented

in line with the Model Approach guiding principles and benchmark standards (as adopted by the UN

entity), including whether programming activities are undertaken directly by the UN entity,

implementing partners, executing agencies, or contractors.

7. The programming of UN entities typically supports key priorities and programs of national partners

who often contribute in-kind or parallel resources and apply their own policies and procedures to

achieve common objectives. While supporting national partners, the UN entity remains accountable

for the sound use of financial resources channeled through its accounts and must ensure the quality

of its support. Implementation of the benchmark standards of the Model Approach, as adopted by

the UN entity, is integral to the quality assurance responsibilities of the UN entity. Respective

partnership agreements should reference applicable programming standards, including the

environmental and social standards of the UN entity. The UN entity will work with partners to ensure

consistency of implementation.

8. Where UN entities are implementing activities jointly, including with non-UN entities, the Model

Approach benchmarks may be utilized to provide a framework for harmonized approaches to

addressing environmental and social issues, risks and impacts in joint projects/programmes.

9. The Model Approach focuses on strengthening the sustainability of country programming. The

sustainability of internal operations is typically guided by organization-wide environmental

management systems. Some UN entities may wish to create linkages between the two. The Strategy

for Sustainability Management in the UN System 2020-2030 significantly raises the level of ambition

to strengthen internal environmental and social sustainability of UN operations.2

10. Procurement is a core element of programme delivery and a critical enabler for sustainable

development. By integrating sustainability considerations into the programme design, budgeting and

implementation at early stages, programme and project managers can ensure fit for purpose and

2 Strategy for Sustainability Management in the UN System 2020-2030, approved by UN Chief Executive Boards for Coordination, May 2019.

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value for money, in addition to maximizing the benefit to the environment and society. This can be

achieved by incorporating relevant environmental and social considerations in the technical

specifications, sourcing methods for suppliers, relevant contract terms and conditions, and Key

Performance Indicators. These efforts should consider the availability of solutions on the market and

the capacity of local suppliers to respond to the needs identified.3 The Model Approach reinforces the

sustainable procurement policies of UN entities in calling for due diligence regarding contractors and

primary suppliers.

Utilizing the Model Approach

11. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach is encouraged to compare its existing environmental

and social standards and safeguards for programming with the benchmarks of the Model Approach

on a voluntary basis. The Annex provides a self-assessment tool to facilitate this process. Where gaps

or inconsistencies are identified, the UN entity would consider incorporating the Model Approach

benchmarks into its corporate policies where they are more stringent than the entity’s requirements.4

12. Where the UN entity does not have formal environmental and social standards in place, it may

consider adopting the benchmarks of the Model Approach as such. The entity would also need to

consider adopting appropriate procedures and systems to support implementation of the new,

aligned safeguard framework, including environmental and social screening procedures, standard

operating procedures and entity-level compliance and accountability systems.

13. The Model Approach does not represent a fixed architecture for environmental and social

frameworks. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach would identify the most appropriate

organizational design for addressing safeguard requirements given their specific mandates.

Consolidation of certain thematic areas and standards of outlined in the Model Approach may be

necessary and/or additional ones may need to be incorporated into entity-level frameworks.

14. Safeguard requirements are often addressed through the environmental and social screening and

assessment processes which identify and analyze potential environmental and social risks and impacts

associated with programming activities and highlight the specific social and environmental benchmark

standards that need to be addressed.

15. When programming is focused on emergency/crisis response and humanitarian action, the UN entity

is encouraged to undertake efforts to integrate the benchmarks of the Model Approach into their

crisis response training, preparedness and prevention protocols and operating procedures.

Adjustments may be required to the timelines and sequencing of addressing the benchmarks (as

incorporated into entity-level policies) in order to prioritize rapid response activities to save lives and

alleviate suffering. As crisis situations transition to stages of early recovery and development, the UN

entity would further integrate the relevant benchmarks into programming activities.

3 The UN High Level Committee on Management’s Procurement Network has developed several guidance documents, training material, and supporting tools to empower UN procurement practitioners and programme managers to operationalize sustainable procurement. All of the above resources can be found on the Greening the Blue website as well as on the Knowledge Centre on UNGM.

4 The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach should inform the EMG on any benchmarks of the Model Approach that should be further strengthened or revised.

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16. UN-entity programming may be directly implemented or may rely on implementing partners,

executing agencies, or contractors. When aligning with the Model Approach, the UN entity would

need to ensure that the relevant benchmarks, as incorporated into its own policies and frameworks,

are addressed by responsible parties for programming implementation. Documentation describing

the programming activities should outline the specific relevant actions required of responsible parties,

and programming agreements and contracts should include standard environmental and social

clauses specifying that environmental and social due diligence and risk management will be

undertaken in a manner consistent with the benchmarks of the Model Approach, as incorporated in

entity environmental and social safeguard policies and frameworks.

17. The benchmark standards of the Model Approach are to be interpreted in a way that is consistent with

rights under international and national law, and the UN entity aligning with the Model Approach shall

take all necessary measures to avoid supporting activities that may place a partner country at risk of

breaching its obligations under international human rights law, international labour standards, and

environmental treaties and agreements.

Key Elements of the Model Approach

18. The Model Approach reflects key elements of a human rights-based approach to programming and

also applies a risk-informed approach to addressing environmental and social risks and impacts. In

this regard the Model Approach extends beyond a “do no harm” approach by seeking to realize rights

and to enhance programming outcomes.

19. Below is a brief summary of the key sections of the Model Approach:

◼ Guiding Principles: In support of Agenda 2030, the Model Approach aims to strengthen the

sustainability and accountability of UN-entity programming and to improve policy coherence and

collaboration with governments and other national counterparts in country level programming.

The benchmarks outlined in the Model Approach are aligned with normative frameworks and UN

guiding principles for country programming:

o Leave No One Behind: The Model Approach emphasizes empowerment of marginalized and

disadvantaged groups and individuals in order for them to realize their rights and interests.

o Human Rights-Based Approach and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment:

Programming shall be designed and implemented in a manner that supports universal respect

for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all; and promotes gender

equality, equal opportunities, and fair treatment of women and men, girls and boys, taking

into account the effects of multiple forms of discrimination.

o Sustainability and Resilience: The Model Approach supports efforts of the UN entity and

partners to promote social, environmental and economic sustainability and to increase the

resilience of societies, including efforts to reduce risks and vulnerabilities associated with

natural and human-made hazards, climate change, violence, conflict, political and social

instability or economic volatility.

o Accountability: Through enhanced stakeholder participation, transparency, and access to

effective complaints and grievance processes, the Model Approach supports the 2030

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Agenda’s call for greater accountability at global, regional and national levels, and to

corresponding mechanisms for implementation and follow-up.

◼ Operationalizing the Model Approach

o Screening, Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts:

Programming shall anticipate and avoid, and where avoidance is not possible, minimize and

mitigate adverse impacts to people and the environment, utilizing a process of screening,

assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts and/or application

of standard operating procedures, with special attention to potential impacts on marginalized

and disadvantaged groups.

o Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability: Programming shall promote meaningful and

effective engagement with stakeholders and affected parties – and in particular marginalized

or disadvantaged groups – throughout the programming life-cycle; ensure stakeholders have

timely access to appropriate, understandable information on programming activities and

potential environmental and social risks and impacts; and ensure that affected parties have

access to fair, transparent, and inclusive grievance redress processes and mechanisms. Special

effort should be made to engage marginalized and disadvantaged groups, in line with the

principle of ‘reaching the furthest behind first’ and considering that these groups may be

disproportionately affected by potential adverse impacts from programming activities.

Measures are to be adopted to identify, address and reduce the risk of reprisals against

programming stakeholders.

◼ Thematic Areas of the Model Approach

o Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Sustainable Natural Resource Management: Programming shall

conserve biodiversity, avoid adverse impacts on biodiversity, maintain and enhance the

benefits of ecosystem services, promote sustainable management and use of natural

resources, and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization

of genetic resources.

o Climate Change and Disaster Risks: Programming shall identify opportunities to promote

climate change mitigation and adaptation, ensure that supported activities are designed and

implemented in a manner sensitive to climate change impacts and disaster risks, and minimize

programming-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

o Community Health, Safety, and Security: Programming shall anticipate and avoid adverse

impacts on the health and safety of communities and individuals affected by programming

activities, ensure quality and safety in the design and construction of programming-related

infrastructure, prevent and minimize potential safety risks and accidents, avoid or minimize

community exposure to diseases and hazardous materials associated with programming

activities, and ensure that the safeguarding of personnel and property minimizes risks to

communities and is carried out in accordance with relevant human rights principles.

o Cultural Heritage: Programming shall protect cultural heritage from damage, alteration, or

removal and support its preservation and protection from misuse, promote meaningful

consultation with all stakeholders regarding affected cultural heritage, and promote equitable

benefit sharing from the use of cultural heritage.

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o Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement: Programming shall avoid physical and economic

displacement and, where avoidance is not possible, minimize adverse impacts from land or

resource acquisition or restrictions on land or resource use; uphold the prohibition on forced

evictions; enhance and restore livelihoods and living standards of all displaced persons and

improve the living conditions of displaced poor and persons belonging to marginalized or

disadvantaged groups through provision, where relevant, of adequate housing, security of

tenure, and access to services and facilities, ensuring that affected persons have opportunities

to derive appropriate benefits from programming activities.

o Indigenous Peoples: Programming shall recognize and foster full respect for indigenous

peoples and their human rights, dignity, cultural uniqueness, autonomy, identity, and

aspirations, consistent with rights and responsibilities set forth in the United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples

Convention, 1989 (No. 169), and other international instruments relating to indigenous

peoples.

o Labour and Working Conditions: Programming shall promote, respect and realize fundamental

principles and rights at work through supporting freedom of association and the right to

collective bargaining; preventing the use of child and forced labour; preventing discrimination

and promoting equality and equal opportunity for all workers. Programming activities shall

ensure the fair treatment of workers and protect and promote their safety and health at work.

o Pollution Prevention and Resource Efficiency: Programming shall avoid and minimize adverse

impacts on human health and the environment from pollution (including short and long-lived

climate pollutants); promote more sustainable and efficient use of resources, including energy,

land and water; avoid or minimize the generation of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes;

and promote safe, effective, environmentally sound pest management.

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Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards for UN Programming

1. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the

planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity:

“We resolve, between now and 2030, to end poverty and hunger everywhere; to combat inequalities within

and among countries; to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies; to protect human rights and promote

gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and to ensure the lasting protection of the

planet and its natural resources. We resolve also to create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained

economic growth, shared prosperity and decent work for all, taking into account different levels of national

development and capacities.”5

2. The Agenda covers a broad set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets and

serves as the overall framework to guide global and national development action.6 In support of the

2030 Agenda, the United Nations is committed to delivering across mandates, sectors and

institutional boundaries and to practicing more coherent and integrated system-wide strategic

planning, implementation and reporting.

3. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) of the Third International Conference on Financing for

Development, whose commitments are also part of the 2030 Agenda’s global commitment, has put a

renewed emphasis on environmental and social safeguards as part of the sound financing framework

required for sustainable development. In this regard, the AAAA calls upon development finance

institutions to “establish or maintain social and environmental safeguards systems, including on

human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, that are transparent, effective, efficient

and time-sensitive” and “in accordance with international standards.”7

4. The Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards for UN Programming outlines a set of

guiding principles and benchmarks that seek to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; to

respect and realize human rights; and to protect the environment from potential adverse impacts of

programming interventions. The Model Approach aims to strengthen the sustainability and

accountability of UN-entity programming and to improve policy coherence and collaboration with

governments and other national counterparts in country-level programming. Alignment with the

benchmarks of the Model Approach will reinforce efforts of the UN entity to support partner countries

and local governments and entities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

I. Guiding Principles

1. The Model Approach is aligned with relevant international conventions and agreements. It is also

aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework guiding principles: leave no

5 See Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, para. 3, UN Doc. A/RES/70/1.

6 For information on the SDGs, targets, and indicators, see https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs.

7 See Addis Ababa Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 13–16 July 2015), UN Doc A/RES/69/313, para. 75.

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one behind; human rights-based approach, gender equality and women’s empowerment;

sustainability and resilience, and accountability.8

2. Leave No One Behind: Leaving no one behind is the central, transformative promise of the 2030

Agenda. It represents the unequivocal commitment of all UN Member States to eradicate poverty in

all its forms, end discrimination and exclusion, and reduce the inequalities and vulnerabilities that

leave people behind and undermine the potential of individuals and of humanity as a whole. As an

overarching guiding principle, leaving no one behind requires the UN system to prioritize its

programmatic interventions to address the situation of those most marginalized, discriminated and

excluded, and to empower them as active agents of the development process. it requires addressing

the multidimensional approach to address the myriad layers of deprivation, disadvantage and

discrimination.9 The principle serves as a cornerstone for coherence across the development,

humanitarian, human rights and peace building agendas of the UN system.

3. When aligning with the Model Approach, the UN entity shall reinforce the leave no one behind

principle, including through the following considerations:

▪ Uphold the human rights principle of equality and non-discrimination and ensure that

marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals are appropriately identified, provided

equal access to programming benefits and resources, and are not left behind due to

discrimination or personal vulnerabilities;

▪ Promote active participation of marginalized and disadvantaged groups in country programming.

Where necessary, the UN entity shall undertake differentiated measures to strengthen the voice

and participation of marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals;

▪ Make special efforts to minimize and mitigate any potential adverse impacts from supported

activities on marginalized and disadvantaged groups, considering that such groups may be

disproportionately affected; and

▪ Consistent with its mandate, the UN entity shall promote protection of the most marginalized and

vulnerable groups and individuals facing crisis and conflict situations and those most likely to be

affected by climate change and natural disasters.

4. Human Rights-Based Approach and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A central

objective of the 2030 Agenda is to “realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and

the empowerment of all women and girls.” Governments committed themselves to implementing the

2030 Agenda “in a manner that is consistent with the rights and obligations of states under

international law.”10

5. The Model Approach is anchored in a human rights-based approach that seeks to ensure that all

programming phases are based on the human rights standards contained in, and the principles

derived from, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights

8 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, June 2019.

9 UNSDG, Leaving No One Behind: A UNSDG Operational Guide for Country Teams (interim draft), April 2019.

10 Transforming our world, preamble and para. 18.

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instruments, with the aim of developing the capacities of right-holders to claim their rights and duty-

bearers to fulfil their obligations.11

6. Programming shall be designed and implemented in a manner that will respect and promote the

realization of human rights as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other

international human rights instruments. The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to:

▪ Uphold human rights principles of accountability and rule of law, participation and inclusion, and

equality and non-discrimination, noting that prohibited grounds of discrimination include race,

colour, ethnicity, sex, age, language, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion,

political or other opinion, national or social or geographic origin, property, birth or other status

including as an indigenous person or as a member of a minority;

▪ Support Governments and other State actors to adhere to their obligations and duties to respect,

to protect, and to fulfill human rights;

▪ Refrain from supporting activities that may contribute to violations of a State’s human rights

obligations under international law;

▪ Undertake environmental and social due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for

any actual or potential adverse human rights impacts;

▪ Ensure all stakeholders have opportunities for meaningful participation in the formulation and

implementation of projects and programmes;

▪ Ensure programming is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities, with reasonable

accommodations12 provided to ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise all human rights

and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others; and

▪ Uphold human rights and the application of UN humanitarian principles in emergency/crisis

response and humanitarian action, per the UN entity’s mandate.13

7. Programming shall be designed and implemented in a manner that will promote gender equality,

equal opportunities, and fair treatment of women and men. The Model Approach calls on the UN

entity to:

▪ Ensure supported activities do not discriminate against women and girls, reinforce gender-based

inequalities and exclusion, or have disproportionate adverse gender-related impacts;

▪ Conduct gender analysis to promote the design and implementation of gender responsive and

gender transformative programming that addresses different needs and constraints of women,

men, girls, and boys, taking into account the effects of multiple forms of discrimination;

11 See USNDG, The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation: Towards a Common Understanding Among UN Agencies (the Common Understanding). Also see Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), Frequently Asked Questions on A Human-Rights-Based Approach to Development Cooperation, HR/PUB/06/8, 2006.

12 Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines reasonable accommodations as “[n]ecessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

13 Humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence were endorsed in UN General Assembly resolutions 46/182 (1991) and 58/114 (2004).

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▪ Promote equal access to and control over productive resources and programming benefits;

▪ Conduct gender-sensitive stakeholder analysis and strengthen women’s participation in decision-

making;

▪ Empower and prioritize the needs of marginalized and vulnerable women, men, girls and boys;

▪ Track progress on gender results, including use of sex-disaggregated data and gender sensitive

indicators; and

▪ Adopt measures that seek to prevent and appropriately respond to incidences of sexual

harassment, gender-based violence and/or sexual exploitation and abuse of women, men, girls

and boys that may occur in connection with programming. At a minimum, the UN entity shall

provide appropriate training to personnel and ensure that effective reporting and response

protocols are in place, referrals for safe and confidential survivor assistance, and prompt

investigation of allegations of such incidences.

8. Sustainability and Resilience: The 2030 Agenda has the objective of enhancing human well-being

through sustainable economic growth and ensuring the lasting protection of the planet and its natural

and cultural resources. The Model Approach supports implementation of international conventions

and agreed policy frameworks to promote sustainability and to increase the resilience of societies,

including the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, the

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and

Human Settlements for All. The Model Approach supports efforts to reduce risks and vulnerabilities

associated with natural and human-made hazards, climate change, violence, conflict, political and

social instability or economic volatility. The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to:

▪ Integrate social, environmental and economic sustainability considerations into all aspects of

country programming;

▪ Conduct sound environmental and social risk assessment of proposed initiatives and apply

environmental and social safeguards to avoid, and where avoidance is impossible, minimize and

mitigate adverse impacts to people and the environment per the mitigation hierarchy;

▪ Include underlying risk drivers in environmental and social risk assessments of proposed initiatives

to avoid unforeseen long-term adverse impact to people and the environment and to strengthen

resilience;

▪ Apply a precautionary approach to addressing significant environmental and social challenges;

▪ Identify and address vulnerability of people, and in particular vulnerabilities of marginalized and

disadvantaged groups, to potential climate change impacts and disaster risks; and

▪ Identify and address interconnections among issues related to the environment, human rights,

conflict, crises and vulnerability, where relevant.

9. Accountability: The Agenda 2030 includes commitments to greater accountability at global, regional,

national and local levels, and to corresponding mechanisms for implementation and follow-up. The

Model Approach strengthens accountability in country programming in that it:

▪ Promotes compliance with legal norms and standards, including national laws, regulations and

obligations under international human rights law, international labour standards and

16

environmental treaties and agreements, respecting the higher standard where national law and

international law set different standards;

▪ Stresses active local community engagement and participation in programming decision-making

and implementation14, paying particular attention to marginalized or disadvantaged groups;

▪ Promotes transparency of programming interventions through provision of timely, accessible and

functional information regarding supported activities, in particular regarding potential

environmental and social risks and impacts and management measures;

▪ Promotes stakeholder access to legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable and transparent,

and rights-compatible complaints redress processes and mechanisms to share concerns and

grievances without inhibiting access to judicial and administrative remedies; and

▪ Promotes monitoring – and where appropriate, participatory monitoring with stakeholders – and

reporting on implementation of environmental and social risk management measures.

14 The Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters and its Almaty Guidelines support key dimensions of the accountability guiding principle.

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II. Operationalizing the Model Approach

1. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach shall ensure that supported programming activities

are prepared and implemented in a manner that meets the guiding principles and benchmarks

standards of the Model Approach.

2. The following sections set out benchmark standards for risk screening, assessment and management

of defined programming and for ensuring meaningful stakeholder engagement and accountability.

3. The Model Approach also recognizes that environmental and social standards may be relevant in cases

where there is not a defined project/programme that can be readily screened (e.g. in emergency

response and humanitarian action contexts and operations) and other processes and mechanisms

may need to be considered by the UN entity. This may include integration of environmental and social

standards consistent with the Model Approach into management practices and controls,

procurement, standard operating procedures, partnership agreements, etc.

A. Screening, Assessment, and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts

Introduction

1. The identification, assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts are

key tools for achieving sound environmental and social performance of programming. Screening,

assessment, and management refers to a process of identifying, predicting, evaluating, avoiding – and

where avoidance is not possible – mitigating adverse environmental and social impacts associated

with programming activities. Identification of potential risks and impacts in advance allows for

informed decision making to avoid and reduce adverse consequences and maximize potential

beneficial outcomes. With an emphasis on engagement of stakeholders, the screening, assessment

and management process broadens public understanding and ownership of programming activities.

2. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach shall ensure that appropriate systems and

procedures are in place that specify responsibilities and timing in the programming cycle for

undertaking the below screening, assessment, and management processes.

Objectives

3. The objectives of the benchmark standards outlined below are to:

▪ Strengthen the environmental and social soundness and sustainability of programming;

▪ Anticipate and avoid, and where avoidance is not possible, minimize and mitigate adverse impacts

to people and the environment per the mitigation hierarchy; and

▪ Ensure that potential adverse impacts do not fall disproportionately on marginalized or

disadvantaged groups and individuals.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

Screening and Categorization

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4. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach shall screen and categorize proposed programming

activities with a distinct planning phase15 (i) to identify potential environmental and social risks and

impacts associated with supported activities, including the risks referred to in the Guiding Principles

and Thematic Areas of the Model Approach, and (ii) to determine the nature and level of

environmental and social review and assessment, and, provisionally, the management measures

necessary for addressing the identified risks and impacts.16

5. Screening, together with the assessment process, establishes the relevance of the benchmark

standards outlined in the Model Approach for the programming activities. The UN entity may utilize

screening to identify potential environmental and social risks as well as opportunities for enhancing

beneficial programming outcomes.

6. The screening process results in the assignment of a risk category based on the significance of

potential environmental and social risks, including direct, indirect, cumulative and transboundary

impacts, as relevant, in the programming area, including those related to associated facilities.17

7. Screening and categorization shall occur as early as possible for programming with a distinct planning

phase, well in advance of approval of supported activities, and be updated accordingly.

8. The UN entity shall seek to align its environmental and social risk categorization procedures with good

international practice. The following risk categories are commonly utilized, noting that the entity may

wish to include additional categories (e.g. designating excluded or prohibited activities, targeted

climate risk categories, or further designation of potential risk levels).

▪ Low Risk: Programming likely to have minimal or no adverse environmental and social risks and

impacts. Low Risk programming typically does not require further environmental and social

analysis or management measures beyond the application of the Model Approach Guiding

Principles, stakeholder engagement and access to complaints and grievance processes.

▪ Moderate Risk: Programming with potential adverse environmental and social risks and impacts

that are limited in scale, are not unprecedented, are largely irreversible, and are limited to the

programming area. Moderate Risk programming may encompass a broad range of supported

activities with varying degrees of limited social and environmental risks and impacts. These

include (a) those with few potential adverse social and environmental risks which can be

addressed through application of recognized good international practice, mitigation measures

and stakeholder engagement during implementation; and (b) more complex initiatives with varied

potential adverse social and environmental risks and impacts that remain limited in scale and of

15 As noted above, some supported activities (e.g. emergency response and humanitarian action) may require immediate response and initial screening may not be practical. Initial social and environmental risk management measures would be addressed though management controls, standard operating procedures, procurement and partnership agreements, and other measures.

16 For a limited range of well-defined activities that typically do not pose significant environmental and social risks (e.g. convening conferences and workshops, report writing), UN entities may establish exemptions to the screening requirement and address any related potential adverse impacts through other policies and measures.

17 Significance of risks and impacts depends on a range of factors, including the nature and type of the programming activities, location, and the magnitude of potential environmental and social impacts. Associated facilities are facilities or activities that are not funded by programming but are directly related to supported activities, are carried out or planned to be carried out contemporaneously with the programming, and are necessary for the viability of the supported activities and would not be constructed or expanded if the programming did not exist (e.g., transmission lines to connect supported solar energy facility).

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lesser magnitude (e.g. reversible, predictable, smaller footprint) compared to those of High Risk

Projects. Moderate Risk programming typically requires targeted environmental and social

analysis and application of recognized good international practice; however, in certain

circumstances, such as for more complex Moderate Risk initiatives, more comprehensive fit-for-

purpose forms of assessment and management may be necessary.

▪ High Risk: Programming likely to have potentially significant adverse environmental and social

impacts that are irreversible, cumulative or unprecedented and/or which raise significant

concerns among potentially affected communities and individuals. High Risk programming may

present significant risks and impacts that extend beyond the defined programming activities and

area, and may contribute to cumulative impacts. Programming categorized as High Risk require

comprehensive forms of environmental and social assessment such as an Environmental and

Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) or Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA).18

Assessment and Management Process

9. Programming categorized as Moderate and High Risk require environmental and social analysis and

assessment that is proportionate to the potential risks and impacts presented by the programming

activities. Analysis and assessment shall be undertaken as early as possible for programming with a

distinct planning phase. In no case shall programming activities that may cause adverse impacts be

carried out until completion of the analysis and/or assessment and adoption of necessary

management measures, or in the case of initial emergency response and humanitarian action,

application of necessary management controls and procedures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate

adverse impacts.

10. For programming with a distinct planning phase, the environmental and social analysis and/or

assessment and development of management measures shall address the following general criteria19:

▪ Ensure that the scope and depth of the analysis or assessment is commensurate with, and

proportional to, the nature and magnitude of the potential risks and impacts of programming

activities;

▪ Consider impacts on physical, biological, socioeconomic and cultural resources, including direct,

indirect, and cumulative impacts of programming activities in the programming area of influence,

including associated facilities;

▪ Assess potential transboundary and global impacts, including climate pollutants and other

emissions, as they relate to programming activities;

18 For High Risk programming, additional thematic-specific types of analysis will most likely be necessary (e.g. Health Impact Assessments, Human Rights Impact Assessments, conflict risk analyses, biodiversity assessment). Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) refers to a range of analytical and participatory approaches that aim to integrate environmental and social considerations into policies, plans and programmes (PPPs) and evaluate their interlinkages with economic considerations.

19 The UNECE Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment set out legal obligations for Parties in identifying, assessing and managing environmental and health impacts of projects and programmes,

20

▪ Consider all technically and financially feasible alternatives to reduce potential environmental and

social risks and impacts, including consideration of the scenario of not proceeding with the

programming activities;20

▪ Ensure assessment is based on recent social and environmental baseline data at an appropriate

level of detail, recognizing that variability over time (e.g. seasonal variations, movement of

people) may require additional data collection;

▪ Apply a precautionary approach to addressing significant environmental and social challenges

(that is, where serious threats exist, the lack of full scientific certainty will not be used to postpone

adoption of effective preventive measures);

▪ Apply a mitigation hierarchy by (a) anticipating and avoiding risks and impacts; (b) where

avoidance is not possible, minimizing or reducing risks and impacts; (c) once risks and impacts

have been minimized or reduced, mitigating them; and (d) where residual adverse impacts

remain, compensating for or offsetting them, where technically and financially feasible;

▪ Ensure appropriate social and environmental management measures and plans are developed,

commensurate with, and proportional to, the nature and magnitude of the identified potential

risks and impacts;

▪ Utilize adaptive management techniques whereby lessons are learned from past management

actions and are proactively utilized to predict and improve management as programming

progresses;

▪ Apply applicable voluntary codes and standards (e.g. green building codes, certifications), where

possible and relevant;

▪ Follow the principle whereby the cost of mitigation is borne by the polluter, where relevant;

▪ Involve early and meaningful stakeholder engagement throughout the programming cycle,

predicated on timely disclosure of all relevant information in accessible form and ensuring that

stakeholders’ views are taken into account, including with the identification and management of

environmental and social risks and impacts;

▪ Assess adequacy of applicable and institutional framework and ensure compliance with national

laws and regulations and obligations under international human rights law, international labour

standards, and environmental treaties and agreements (i.e. applicable law). Where national law

and international law set different standards, the UN entity shall respect the higher standard; and

▪ Ensure allocation of budgetary and other resources sufficient for undertaking assessments and

developing management measures commensurate with the nature and magnitude of the

potential risks and impacts of programming activities.

11. The environmental and social assessment, informed by the screening process and initial analysis and

scoping of issues, shall take into account all relevant environmental and social risks and impacts of

throughout the programming cycle, including but not limited to impacts on water and air quality

(including impacts on the ozone layer); biodiversity and natural habitats, including land and soils,

20 Cost-benefit analysis may be required to weigh fully the potential overall costs of potential social and environmental impacts against anticipated project benefits.

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water, ecosystems and ecosystem services; livelihoods; the rights of women, older persons, youth,

indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and marginalized and disadvantaged groups and

individuals; fundamental principles and rights at work; worker health and safety; impacts on the

health, safety and well-being of affected communities; tenure security; risks to human security

through escalation of conflict, crime and violence; risks to cultural heritage; potential exposure and

vulnerability of communities to climate change impacts and disaster risks, and potential risks that

climate change and disasters may pose to programming outcomes; and the risk of reprisals against

individuals and communities in relation to supported activities.

12. Where the environmental and social assessment identifies potential programming-related adverse

risks and impacts to marginalized and disadvantaged groups, the UN entity shall ensure that

differentiated measures are implemented so that adverse impacts do not fall disproportionately on

marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals and they are not disadvantaged in sharing in

programming benefits and opportunities.

13. Where the environmental and social assessment identifies potential programming-related adverse

risks and impacts to persons with disabilities, differentiated measures shall be adopted that ensure

non-discrimination and equality, access, and opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate

in and benefit from supported activities on an equal basis with others.

14. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach shall identify potential environmental and social risks

and impacts associated with programming contractors and primary suppliers. Specific due diligence

should be undertaken to ascertain the performance and reputation of contractors and primary

suppliers. Include covenants in legal agreements with programming contractors to comply with

relevant benchmark standards of the Model Approach. Risks and impacts associated with

programming primary suppliers should be addressed in a manner proportionate to the UN entity’s

control or influence over them.

15. When programming is focused on rapid response activities to save lives and alleviate suffering, initial

screening and assessment of supported activities may not be practical. UN entities involved in

emergency response and humanitarian action would undertake efforts to integrate the benchmark

standards of the Model Approach into their crisis response training, preparedness and prevention

protocols and standard operating procedures in order to avoid, minimize, mitigate and manage any

initial adverse social and environmental impacts. As crisis situations transition to stages of early

recovery and longer-term development, the UN entity would further integrate relevant benchmark

standards into programming activities, including undertaking screening, assessment and

management for planned longer term activities.

16. The environmental and social analysis, assessment and management measures for Moderate Risk

programming are more targeted than those required for High Risk programming. The analysis will

describe the potential environmental and social risks and impacts and the appropriate mitigation

measures, per the mitigation hierarchy, often focused on the application of recognized good

international practice. In some instances, a fit-for-purpose Environmental and Social Impact

Assessment (ESIA), Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA), and Environmental and

Social Management Plan (ESMP) may be utilized.

17. High Risk programming requires comprehensive forms of environmental and social assessment such

as an ESIA, SESA, or sectoral or regional environmental and social assessments and cumulative impact

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assessments, where appropriate.21 For High Risk programming, qualified independent expertise is

required to prepare and/or verify the assessment and for highly risky, complex, or contentious

activities, an independent advisory panel needs to be utilized.

18. Once the potential environmental and social risks and impacts of programming activities are identified

and the mitigation hierarchy has been applied, measures to mitigate, monitor and manage the

impacts need to be established. For Moderate Risk programming, recognized and appropriate good

international practice shall be described and applied; however, where potential risks and impacts are

more complex, then an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) should be developed.

19. For High Risk programming, mitigation and management measures shall be reflected in an ESMP. The

ESMP shall include the proposed: (a) mitigation measures; (b) environmental and social monitoring

and reporting requirements; (c) related institutional or organizational arrangements; (d) provisions

for stakeholder consultations and disclosure of information; (e) capacity development and training

measures; (f) implementation schedule; (g) cost estimates; and (h) baselines and performance

indicators.22 Key considerations for ESMP preparation include mitigation of potentially adverse

impacts to acceptable levels, and – where relevant – the polluter pays principle. The ESMP may also

include or accompany other required management plans such as Resettlement Action Plans or

Indigenous Peoples Plans, where relevant.

20. Where programming consists of a series of activities whose details are not yet fully identified at the

time of approval, an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) may be required. The

purpose of the ESMF is to ensure that programming activities once specified will be assessed and

implemented in conformity with the relevant benchmark standards of the Model Approach. The ESMF

shall set out (a) a description of the applicable policies and procedures to be followed to assess and

address environmental and social risks and impacts of the activities; (b) an explanation of the

anticipated environmental and social risks and impacts; (c) screening and assessment procedures; (d)

identification of activities that will not proceed until assessments are undertaken and management

plans are in place; (e) provisions for stakeholder consultations and disclosure of information; (f)

implementation and monitoring requirements; and (g) roles and responsibilities.

21. If there are material changes to the scope, design, implementation, operation or to the context of the

programming activities that are likely to result in additional environmental and social risks or impacts

or to a change in the categorized risk level, additional assessment of such changes and stakeholder

engagement would need to be carried out in accordance with the relevant benchmark standards of

the Model Approach.

Monitoring and Reporting of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts

22. As part of the overall risk monitoring of programming activities, relevant environmental and social

risks shall be monitored with due regard to agreed environmental and social management measures

21 Assessments and management plans for High Risk programming should be disclosed at least 120 days prior to approval of the programming activities.

22 The World Bank Group Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines (EHSG) contain performance levels and measures across a wide range of sectors that will be normally acceptable and applicable to supported activities. Where national regulations differ from these levels and measures, the more stringent standard should apply unless specific circumstances warrant application of the less stringent measures as long as full justification is provided and such measures are consistent with the Model Approach benchmark standards.

23

and plans. Adequate institutional arrangements, systems, resources and personnel shall be put in

place to carry out monitoring. Where appropriate, monitoring shall engage and/or involve

stakeholders and third parties, such as affected communities, independent experts, or NGOs, to

complement or verify monitoring activities. The role of local governments should also be considered

in monitoring activities.

23. Based on the monitoring results, any necessary corrective actions shall be undertaken. The UN entity

and stakeholders shall be promptly notified of any incident or accident related to the programming

activities that has or is likely to have significant adverse impacts on people or the environment.

Immediate measures shall be undertaken to address the incident or accident and to prevent any

recurrence.

24. As set out in the agreed environmental and social management measures and plans, periodic reports

shall be provided to programming-affected communities describing progress with implementation of

environmental and social management measures and plans and on issues that the consultation

process or grievance mechanisms have identified as a matter of concern.

B. Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability

Introduction

1. Effective stakeholder engagement is a cornerstone to achieving sustainable development. Meaningful

engagement with stakeholders, including access to timely and relevant information and grievance

redress, are key aspects of a human rights-based approach to programming.23 Government partners,

civil society actors and organizations, local government actors, private sector actors, employers’

organizations, trade unions, indigenous peoples, local communities and other stakeholders are crucial

partners for UN programming. Effective stakeholder engagement is also fundamental to attaining the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and addressing the principle of ‘leave no one behind’ in

combatting inequality and ensuring equity and non-discrimination across all programming areas.

Objectives

2. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Promote the meaningful and effective participation of parties affected by programming activities

and other stakeholders throughout the programming life-cycle;

▪ Ensure stakeholders have timely access to appropriate, understandable information on

programming activities and potential environmental and social risks and impacts; and

▪ Ensure affected parties have access to effective remedy through fair, transparent, and inclusive

grievance redress processes and mechanisms.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

Stakeholder Engagement

23 The Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters and its Almaty Guidelines support key dimensions of the accountability guiding principle.

24

3. The UN entity aligning with the Model Approach shall promote meaningful and effective engagement

and collaboration with stakeholders throughout the programming life-cycle, in particular with those

who may be directly or indirectly affected by supported activities. Stakeholder engagement is an on-

going process that involves to varying degrees: (i) stakeholder identification and analysis, (ii) planning

of stakeholder engagement over the course of the programming, (iii) timely disclosure of relevant,

accessible information on the programming activities, (iv) consultation and meaningful participation,

(v) dispute resolution and addressing potential grievances, (vi) reporting to stakeholders, and (vi)

inclusion of stakeholders in monitoring and evaluation. Stakeholder engagement shall address the

following elements:

▪ Undertake stakeholder identification and analysis of different stakeholder groups. The term

“stakeholder” refers to individuals or groups or organizations representing them who are affected

or are likely to be affected by the programming activities or to those who may have an interest in

the programming activities. Stakeholder identification includes those affected parties who belong

to marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Identify stakeholders who may require different or

separate forms of engagement, including women, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities,

indigenous peoples, minorities;

▪ Develop and implement a Stakeholder Engagement Plan that is proportionate to the nature and

scale of programming activities and potential environmental and social risks and impacts.24 The

Stakeholder Engagement Plan describes the timing and methods of engagement throughout the

programming cycle, the range and timing of information to be communicated to stakeholders,

and how views of differently affected groups will be captured. The plan outlines steps to remove

obstacles to stakeholder participation and, where applicable, includes differentiated measures to

allow effective participation of persons with disabilities and marginalized or disadvantaged

groups. Disclose a draft of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan early and seek stakeholder views on

the plan;

▪ Engage stakeholders as early as possible in the development of programming, enabling

stakeholders’ views to be taken into account in design, including with the identification and

management of environmental and social risks and impacts;

▪ Engage in meaningful effective consultations and collaboration in a culturally appropriate

manner. Such consultation shall be a two-way process that seeks to identify priorities of

stakeholders and provide them with opportunities to express their views at all points in the

programming decision-making process on matters that affect them and allows programming

teams to consider and respond to them.25 Topics the stakeholders will be able to express their

views on shall include but are not limited to programming goals and strategies; potential

environmental and social risks and impacts; proposed mitigation measures; sharing of

24 The form and content of Stakeholder Engagement Plans will depend on various factors, including the nature, scale, location, and duration of programming activities; the diverse interests of stakeholders; the scale of potential positive and adverse impacts on people and the environment; and the likelihood of grievances. It may consist of a straightforward description of the approach to stakeholder engagement activities for smaller activities with few if any adverse impacts or initial stakeholder concerns to comprehensive plans that map out detailed engagement activities across multiple phases of complex programming.

25 See the UNECE Good practice recommendations on public participation in strategic environmental assessment prepared under the Protocol on SEA in consultation with the Aarhus Convention constituencies.

25

development benefits and opportunities; and implementation issues.26 Meaningful effective

consultations will be free of external manipulation, coercion, discrimination and intimidation; be

gender- and -age inclusive and respond to the needs and interests of marginalized and

disadvantaged groups, with engagement processes tailored to the language and accessibility

preferences of each group, including persons with disabilities; be based on prior and timely

disclosure of relevant, accessible understandable information; be free of charge; and provide

appropriate time frames for stakeholders to consider and provide comments;

▪ Maintain records of stakeholder consultations, including a description of persons consulted,

summary of all feedback received and how the comments and information received were taken

into account or reasons why they were not, and share with all stakeholders consulted; and

▪ Continue stakeholder engagement throughout the life-cycle of the programming activities in a

manner appropriate to the nature of the supported activities and potential environmental and

social risks and impacts. Include stakeholders in monitoring implementation and evaluation of

programming outcomes.

4. Programming activities may at times be undertaken in especially challenging environments, such as

areas experiencing conflict, humanitarian crises or where human rights violations are rampant.

Stakeholder engagement specialists with up-to-date familiarity of local contexts would most likely be

required to devise and help manage engagement processes in such contexts. Decentralized, targeted

meetings with specific stakeholder groups may be necessary. Where direct consultation with certain

stakeholder groups is impossible, other avenues should be explored, such as meeting available

representatives or utilizing third-parties as go-betweens. In such cases, care should be taken to ensure

that the representatives and third-parties genuinely represent the stakeholders concerned. Timelines

and documentation for stakeholder engagement may need to be adjusted. Risks to stakeholders from

participation in supported activities in challenging environments should be closely monitored.

Access to Information

5. The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure stakeholders have timely access to relevant,

appropriate, understandable information on the programming activities and potential environmental

and social risks and impacts. Access to programming information shall address the following elements:

▪ Provide information to stakeholders on key aspects of programming activities as early as possible,

including on the purpose, nature scale, and duration of proposed activities (through inter alia by

providing access to draft and approved programming documentation); potential environmental

and social risks and impacts (including any draft, final, and updated environmental and social

assessments and management plans); proposed stakeholder engagement processes and plans;

grievance redress mechanisms; any required environmental and social monitoring reports; and

how to obtain further information;

▪ Provide relevant information in understandable forms and relevant local languages in an

accessible and culturally appropriate manner, considering any specific needs of groups that may

be disproportionately affected by programming activities or groups with specific information

needs, such as due to disability, literacy, gender, mobility, language, and accessibility;

26 Affected persons should be provided, in understandable form, an explanation of relevant laws, regulations and the UN entity’s standards.

26

▪ Ensure that programming information, including draft programming documentation and any draft

environmental and social assessments and management plans, are disclosed in an accessible,

understandable manner in a timeframe that allows for meaningful effective consultation.

Programming activities with potentially significant environmental and social risk and impacts

require sufficient disclosure timeframes prior to finalization and approval.27

▪ Maintain and disclose a public record of stakeholder engagement throughout the programming

cycle. In cases where it may be necessary to safeguard the identities of stakeholders, statistical

information is recorded and disclosed.

▪ The programming information outlined above will be provided to stakeholders free of charge.

Programming-level Grievance Mechanisms

6. The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure that parties affected by programming activities

have access to fair, transparent, and inclusive grievance redress processes and mechanisms free of

charge. These should be designed in a manner proportionate to the nature of the programming

activities and potential environmental and social risks and impacts, and define clear roles and

responsibilities and designate personnel responsible for implementation. The design of grievance

mechanisms should meet the effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms outlined in

the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.28 Grievance redress mechanisms

designed according to these principles are more likely to provide effective resolution of stakeholder

grievances. Accordingly, grievance mechanisms should be:

▪ Legitimate: enabling trust from the intended stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended,

and being accountable for the fair conduct of grievance processes;

▪ Accessible: being known to all stakeholder groups for whose use they are intended, and providing

adequate assistance for those who may face particular barriers to access. Ensure that the

mechanism is gender- and age-inclusive, addresses access barriers for marginalized and

disadvantaged group (including persons with disabilities), and addresses concerns promptly and

effectively in a transparent manner that is culturally appropriate at no cost and without

retribution;

▪ Predictable: providing a clear and known procedure with an indicative time frame for each stage,

and clarity on the types of process and outcome available and means of monitoring

implementation;

▪ Equitable: seeking to ensure that aggrieved parties have reasonable access to sources of

information, advice and expertise necessary to engage in a grievance process on fair, informed

and respectful terms;

▪ Transparent: providing various entry points for communicating concerns and clarity on the

mechanism’s procedures, and keeping parties to a grievance informed about its progress, and

27 For programming activities that present potentially significant adverse environmental and social risks and impacts (e.g. High Risk), assessments and management plans should be disclosed at least 120 days prior to approval; for Moderate Risk programming, such disclosure should occur at least 30 days prior to approval.

28 UN Human Rights Council, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, 2011, Report of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie: Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. A/HRC/17/31. See http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf.

27

providing sufficient information about the mechanism’s performance. The mechanism should

maintain a record of responses to all grievances received and make this available where

appropriate; inform affected parties how to access the mechanism during stakeholder

engagement activities; and indicate an appeals process to which complainants may be referred

when resolution has not been achieved;

▪ Rights-compatible: ensuring that outcomes and remedies accord with internationally recognized

human rights. The mechanism should not prevent access to judicial or administrative remedies.

Where feasible and suitable, utilize existing formal or informal mechanisms supplemented as

needed to address these criteria;

▪ A source of continuous learning: drawing on relevant measures to identify lessons for improving

the mechanism and preventing future grievances and harms.

7. The grievance redress processes and mechanisms described above are applicable across the thematic

areas of the Model Approach. Certain thematic areas – Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement,

Indigenous Peoples, and Labour and Working Conditions – also include specific grievance redress

requirements to address the specific circumstances of those areas.

UN Entity Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs)

8. The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to adopt an Independent Accountability Mechanism (IAM)

that establishes systems or measures at the entity level as a supplemental means of redress for

concerns of parties affected by programming and to review alleged or potential violations of entity

environmental and social safeguards. Such systems should be operated by the UN entity and should

be designed to be independent from direct programming management and be impartial, transparent,

accessible, responsive, and free of charge. Problem-solving and compliance review systems should

provide for the receipt of and timely response to complaints, work proactively with complainants to

resolve concerns, maintain records on all cases with due consideration for confidentiality, and seek to

minimize risks of retaliation to complainants. The availability of the IAM should be proactively

advertised to programming stakeholders. Such systems will not impede access to judicial or

administrative remedies as may be relevant or applicable.

Reprisals

9. The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to adopt internal policies, guidance or practices to identify,

address and reduce the risk of retaliation against people who may seek information on and

participation in programming activities, express concerns and/or access programming-level grievance

redress processes, mechanisms and IAMs. Respect should be given to requests for confidentiality with

regard to the identities of complainants and disclosure of information provided to these mechanisms.

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III. Thematic Areas of the Model Approach

Thematic Area 1: Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Introduction

1. Biological diversity – or biodiversity – is the term given to the variety of life on Earth, including plants,

animals and micro-organisms, as well as the ecosystems of which they are part. Biodiversity includes

genetic differences within species, the diversity of species and the variety of ecosystems. It is the

result of the interaction of species, including humans, with one another and with the air, water and

soil around them. This combination of life forms – ecosystems, species and genetic varieties – has

made Earth a uniquely habitable place and provides the goods and services that sustain our lives, such

as clean air and water, food and medicine, fuel, fibre, and material for construction. Our cultures are

founded upon the different environments in which they have developed. Biodiversity and healthy

ecosystems also strengthen our resilience to address environmental and social changes and shocks,

including climate change impacts and disaster risks.

2. Biodiversity, however, is currently being lost at unprecedented rates due to human activities that

destroy, degrade or encroach on habitats, increase pollution, and contribute to climate change. The

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)29 and other international conventions and agreements30 seek

to address this problem by preserving the rich diversity of life forms at the genetic, species, and

ecosystem levels. The benchmark standards below reflect and support the objectives of the CBD, and

elaborate a range of actions to avoid and minimize adverse impacts to terrestrial, freshwater and

marine biodiversity and ecosystems in country programming.

Objectives

3. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Conserve biodiversity;

▪ Maintain and enhance the benefits of ecosystem services31;

▪ Promote sustainable management and use of living natural resources;

▪ Ensure the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the utilization of genetic resources; and

▪ Respect, preserve, maintain and encourage knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous

peoples and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity

and their customary use of biological resources.

29 See the Convention on Biological Diversity.

30 Including the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), World Heritage Convention, International Plant Protection Convention, and the International Whaling Commission.

31 Ecosystem services are the benefits that people derive from ecosystems. Examples are as follows: (i) provisioning services may include food, freshwater, timber, fibers, medicinal plants; (ii) regulating services may include surface water purification, carbon storage and sequestration, climate regulation, protection from natural hazards; (iii) cultural services may include natural areas that are sacred sites and areas of importance for recreation and aesthetic enjoyment; and (iv) supporting services may include soil formation, nutrient cycling, primary production.

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Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

4. Risk identification. Identify potential direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems and

ecosystem services from supported activities as early as possible.32 Consider risks related to habitat

and species loss, degradation and fragmentation, overexploitation, invasive alien species, hydrological

changes, nutrient loading, pollution, incidental take, potential climate change impacts, and differing

values attached to potentially affected biodiversity and ecosystem services by potentially affected

communities and other stakeholders.33 Consider potential impacts across landscapes and seascapes

to ensure that any adopted mitigation strategy aligns with regional conservation goals. Where adverse

impacts to biodiversity and ecosystems are identified, ensure that suitably qualified expertise is used

in assessing potential impacts, developing appropriate mitigation and monitoring measures, and

verifying implementation.34 Involve and consult with relevant stakeholders, and in particular local

communities affected by the supported activities, in the identification and assessment of potential

impacts on biodiversity and relevant ecosystem services.

5. Ecosystem approach, mitigation hierarchy and precautionary approach. Where relevant, pursue an

ecosystem approach for the integrated and adaptive management of terrestrial, freshwater, marine

and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.35 Apply the

mitigation hierarchy to anticipate and, as a matter of priority, avoid adverse impacts on biodiversity

and ecosystems. Where avoidance is not possible, minimize and then mitigate potential adverse

impacts to acceptable levels, and lastly, consider compensation for or offsetting remaining residual

impacts (on biodiversity offsets, see below). Avoidance of significant adverse impacts may at times

require redesign of or not proceeding with certain activities. In addition, use a precautionary approach

when addressing potential adverse impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems and communities: where

serious threats exist, the lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used to postpone adoption of

effective preventive measures.

6. Siting preference. Prioritize siting activities with potential adverse impacts far from critical habitats36,

protected areas or areas of ecological significance, giving preference to locating activities on lands

32 Effective biodiversity assessments may require significant lead times given seasonal changes and migratory issues.

33 Biodiversity and ecosystems will be viewed differently depending on the stakeholders and will vary from region to region. Particular biodiversity attributes and ecosystem services will generally be valued differently (e.g. ecologically, economically, culturally) by relevant local, national and international stakeholders.

34 See CBD Voluntary Guidelines on Biodiversity-inclusive Impact Assessment (CBD Decision VIII/28)

35 “Ecosystem” means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit (CBD, Article 2). See Convention on Biological Diversity, Ecosystem Approach. Also see Shepherd, Gill, The Ecosystem Approach: Five Steps to Implementation, IUCN (2004).

36 Critical habitats are areas with high biodiversity value, including any of the following features: (i) habitat of significant importance to threatened or endangered species (e.g. Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable species identified in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species); (ii) habitat of significant importance to endemic and/or restricted-range species; (iii) habitat supporting globally significant concentrations of migratory species and/or congregatory species; (iv) highly threatened and/or unique ecosystems (for example see partial listing at IUCN Red List of Threatened Ecosystems); and/or (v) areas associated with key evolutionary processes. Critical habitats include those areas that are (i) legally protected, (ii) officially proposed for protection, (ii) identified by authoritative sources for their high conservation value (such as areas that meet criteria of the World Conservation Union classification, the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, and UNESCO world heritage sites), or (iv) recognized as protected by traditional local communities.

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where natural habitats have already been converted/degraded (e.g. modified habitats37) with limited

restoration potential or in areas of low value for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Avoid wherever

possible siting activities on lands converted in anticipation of the programming activities.

7. Habitats. Avoid activities that would lead to adverse impacts on critical habitats (i.e. no measurable

adverse impacts on the biodiversity values and ecological processes of such areas), including activities

that may convert or degrade such areas.38 For areas of natural habitat,39 seek to avoid any significant

conversion or degradation and proceed with activities that could cause adverse impacts to such areas

only if no viable alternatives exist and appropriate conservation and mitigation measures or plans40

are in place, including those required to maintain any potentially affected ecosystem services.

Appropriate mitigation and management measures shall aim to achieve net gains of biodiversity for

critical habitats and, wherever possible, for natural habitats, ensuring at a minimum no net loss of

biodiversity for such areas. However, it must be recognized that no net loss is not possible in all cases,

e.g. where endemic species have highly restricted distributions. In such instances, explore alternative

designs to avoid adverse impacts to biodiversity. Minimize unwarranted conversion or degradation of

modified habitats.

8. Water resources. Seek to avoid adverse impacts on water resources and water-related ecosystems,

including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes, and promote sustainable use of

water resources through integrated water resources management approaches. Ensure that supported

activities do not adversely affect access to and and/or quality of water supplies.41

9. Soil Management. Avoid, and where avoidance is not possible, minimize adverse impacts on soils,

their biodiversity, organic content, productivity, structure, water-retention capacity.

10. Protected areas. Avoid activities that would cause significant adverse impacts to legally protected

areas, areas designated for legal protection, and areas recognized for their high biodiversity value,

including nationally and internationally designated protected areas, indigenous protected areas (IPAs)

or indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs).42 Activities in these areas need to be

consistent with the area’s legal protection and management objectives and plans, where existent.

Protected area stakeholders (e.g. sponsors, managers, potentially affected communities, indigenous

peoples, other interested parties) are to be consulted and involved in the design, implementation,

and monitoring and evaluation of activities that may affect such areas.

37 Modified habitats are areas that may contain a large proportion of plant and/or animal species of non-native origin, and/or areas where human activity has substantially modified an area's primary ecological functions and species composition. Modified habitats may include areas managed for agriculture, forest plantations, reclaimed costal zones, reclaimed wetlands, and regenerated forests and grasslands.

38 Some conservation activities that seek to protect and/or strengthen critical habitats may have associated minor adverse impacts; such actions need to be designed to achieve net gains for the biodiversity values of such areas.

39 Natural habitats are land and water areas where the biological communities are formed largely by native plant and animal species, and where human activity has not essentially modified the area’s primary ecological functions and species composition.

40 For example, a Biodiversity Action Plan that describes the conservation outcomes, implementation measures and monitoring and evaluation.

41 Regarding potential impacts on transboundary waters, see for example the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

42 For resources and guidelines on types of protected areas, see the IUCN Best Practice Protected Areas Series. Where supported activities may affect natural World Heritage sites, see IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment.

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11. Endangered and protected species. Ensure that activities do not lead to a reduction in the populations

of any recognized Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered species, or restricted range

species, as identified in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species43 or equivalent national/regional

listings. All programming should also ensure that it does not increase the risk of illegal trade in

protected species.44

12. Management of ecosystem services. Avoid adverse impacts on ecosystem services of relevance to

affected communities. If avoidance of adverse impacts is not possible, mitigation and management

measures will aim to maintain the value and functionality of affected ecosystem services. Involve and

consult with affected communities on activities that may affect their ecosystem services.

13. Biodiversity offsets. Biodiversity offsets shall be considered only as a last resort if significant residual

adverse impacts to biodiversity remain after avoidance, minimization, and restoration measures have

been applied. Such offsets are to be designed to achieve measurable, additional, and long-term

conservation outcomes that achieve no net loss of biodiversity and preferably a net gain (which would

be required if critical habitats are affected). It must be recognized that certain impacts cannot be

offset if the affected area is unique and irreplaceable.45 Qualified experts and key stakeholders are to

be involved in the design of offsets, which are to adhere to the “like-for-like or better” principle.

14. Alien and invasive alien species. Implement measures to avoid introduction or utilization of invasive

alien species, whether accidental or intentional, and support activities to mitigate and control their

further spread. Avoid the intentional introduction of new alien species unless carried out according

to existing regulatory frameworks and the introduction is subject to a risk assessment.46

15. Biosafety and genetic resources. Adhere to the CBD and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety47 in the

handling, transport, and use of living modified organisms that result from modern biotechnology

which may have adverse impacts on biodiversity and human health.

16. Customary sustainable use of biological diversity. Where relevant, protect and encourage customary

use of biological resources in accordance with traditional knowledge, innovations and cultural

practices that are compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements, ensuring full and

effective participation of relevant indigenous peoples and local communities where such traditional

knowledge and practices are affected, supported or utilized in country programming.

17. Use of genetic resources. For projects/programmes that involve the utilization of genetic resources,

ensure that the collection of such resources is conducted sustainably and that benefits derived from

their utilization are shared in a fair and equitable manner, consistent with applicable access and

benefit sharing (ABS) measures in accordance with the CBD (Article 15) and its Nagoya Protocol on

43 See the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

44 In accordance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). See the CITES Appendices of species threatened by international trade.

45 For example, biodiversity offsets should not be considered regarding potential adverse impacts in World Heritage sites.

46 See Guiding Principles for the Prevention, Introduction and Mitigation of Impacts of Alien Species that Threaten Ecosystems, Habitats or Species, CBD Decision VI/23, Annex.

47 See the CBD Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

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Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their

Utilization.48

18. Sustainable management of living natural resources. Ensure sustainable management of living

natural resources (e.g. forests, agriculture, fisheries, livestock) in accordance with Article 10 of the

CBD. Apply appropriate industry-specific best management practices and, where codified, credible

certification and verification systems. Adopt appropriate measures, where relevant, to promote

animal welfare, control for potential invasiveness or escape of production species, and minimization

of antimicrobial resistance. Where relevant, support small-scale landholders to harvest and produce

living natural resources in a sustainable manner.49

19. Primary Suppliers. When purchasing natural resource commodities, where possible, limit

procurement to those primary suppliers that can demonstrate that they are not contributing to

significant conversion or degradation of natural or critical habitats, and if necessary within a

reasonable period, shift to primary suppliers that can demonstrate that they are not significantly

adversely impacting these areas. Encourage application of ecolabels and Environmental Product

Descriptions (EPDs)50 where available.

48 See the CBD Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) is supporting development of an international legal instrument relating to intellectual property which will ensure the effective and balanced protection of genetic resources.

49 See Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, CBD Decision VII/12, Annex II.

50 An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is an independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products. The relevant standard for Environmental Product Declarations is ISO 14025, where they are referred to as "type III environmental declarations."

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Thematic Area 2: Climate Change and Disaster Risks

Introduction

1. Climate change impacts and disaster risks pose a fundamental threat to sustainable development and

the fight against poverty. They have the potential to stall and even reverse human development

through its impacts on key development sectors and activities, including agriculture and food

production, water, ecosystems and other natural resources, disaster risk management and health.

Climate change has become a key driver of hydro-meteorological disasters and has the potential to

produce negative impacts through gradual environmental changes and may exacerbate extreme

weather events, increasing the risk of slow and sudden-onset, high-impact disasters. Climate

variability is contributing to the increasing frequency and impact of small-scale localized disasters with

far-reaching long-term socio-economic and developmental impacts.

2. The Sustainable Development Goals, the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework

on Disaster Risk Reduction51 require parties to integrate climate change and disaster risk

considerations into projects, programmes, plans, and policies in order to strengthen resilience and to

reduce potential exposure and vulnerability of communities.

3. Reducing the negative impacts of climate change is pursued through two complementary strategies:

mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions52 that are an anthropogenic root cause of climate

change) and adaptation (adjusting human systems to moderate harm and/or exploit beneficial

opportunities from climate change).

4. Disaster risk reduction involves reducing potential exposure and vulnerability to a broad range of

potential hazards, including biological, environmental, geological/geophysical, hydrometeorological,

and technological processes and phenomena. The Sendai Framework calls for decision-making tobe

inclusive and risk-informed while using a multi-hazard approach to guide programming. Disaster risk

reduction requires integrated analysis and planning to prevent, reduce, manage and strengthen

resilience to potential hazards, including applying the concept of “build back better” after a disaster

to increase the resiliency of communities. Disaster risk reduction measures are mainstreamed across

the various thematic areas of the Model Approach; under this thematic area risks associated primarily

with weather-related or hydrometeorological hazards are addressed.

5. Communities that are already subjected to impacts from climate change may experience an

acceleration and/or intensification of impacts due to programming activities that do not integrate and

anticipate climate change and disaster risks. The benchmark standards below identify actions to

reduce exposure and vulnerability of communities to climate change and disaster risks.

Objectives

6. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

51 See Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

52 “Greenhouse Gases“(GHGs) means those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. The UNFCCC requires countries to report on the following direct GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); perfluorocarbons (PFCs); sulfur hexafluoride (SF6); nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) from five sectors (energy; industrial processes and product use; agriculture; land use, land-use change and forestry; and waste). The Montreal Protocol calls for the phase out of the powerful GHG hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and the phasedown of controlled hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

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▪ Strengthen resilience of communities to address risks of climate change impacts and disasters;

▪ Ensure programming integrates climate change adaptation considerations and does not

exacerbate vulnerability of communities to climate change impacts or disaster risks; and

▪ Minimize programming-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and intensity and maintain

carbon sinks.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

7. Climate change and disaster risk analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Potential adverse impacts may be caused by gradual changes in climate, including rising temperatures,

decreased water availability, salinization of land and fresh water, erosion, desertification, sea level

rise, ocean acidification, loss of natural buffer zones, among other potential changes. Climate change

may also affect the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration and timing of weather-related or

hydrometeorological hazards leading to sudden-onset extreme events such as floods, landslides,

tropical storms, wildfires and droughts.

8. Ensure programming is sensitive to and informed by climate change and disaster risk considerations

through the below measures:

▪ Integrate relevant and up-to-date climate and disaster risk information during the design and

implementation of interventions;

▪ Identify potential exposure of relevant communities, ecosystems, and critical infrastructure to

climate change impacts and hazards, both natural and human-made, including to natural hazard-

triggered technological (or “Natech”) accidents.53

▪ Analyse physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the

susceptibility and vulnerability of relevant communities to potential climate change impacts and

hazards – with a particular focus on marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals;

▪ Examine viability of intended outcomes and sensitivity of programming components given

potential climate change impacts and disaster risks;

▪ Assess whether activities may increase exposure or exacerbate vulnerability to climate change

impacts or disasters (e.g. maladaptation) and avoid activities that may exacerbate such risks;

▪ Integrate where relevant climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction considerations in

planning (risk-informing and “climate proofing”) and seek to identify opportunities for

strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerabilities, including where possible through

ecosystem-based approaches.54 Seek synergies with existing or planned activities for generating

climate change mitigation co-benefits (e.g. reduction in GHG emissions) where possible;

53 See UNISDR, Words into Action Guidelines: 9. Natech Hazards and Risk Assessment (2017).

54 Among other measures, conserving biodiversity and promoting healthy ecosystems strengthens resilience to potential adverse climate change impacts and disaster risks and may facilitate effective adaptation strategies. See CBD/SBSTTA, Guidelines for Ecosystem-Based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction, January 2018 (draft); and E Cohen-Shacham, G Walters, C Janzen, S Maginnis (eds.) Nature-based Solutions to Address Global Societal Challenges, IUCN 2016.

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▪ Incorporate stakeholder perspectives, including those most vulnerable to potential climate

change impacts and disaster risks, into programming risk analysis, planning, implementation,

monitoring and evaluation.

▪ Ensure that appropriate climate and disaster risk management plans are in place, including but

not limited to emergency and response plans and ensure appropriate monitoring and, where

necessary, adoption of corrective measures;

▪ Where relevant, integrate disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical

infrastructure and societal systems to “build back better” after a disaster to increase the resiliency

of communities;

9. GHG emissions and carbon sinks. Minimize and avoid unwarranted increases in greenhouse gas

emissions or other drivers of climate change from supported activities, including through the

following measures:

▪ Consider alternatives and implement technically and financially feasible options to minimize

programming-related GHG emissions and other drivers of climate change. Options may include

alternative locations; use of renewable and low-carbon energy sources; energy efficiency; use of

low-global-warming-potential coolants for air-conditioning and refrigeration; “climate-smart”

agriculture and livestock management practices55; and ecosystem-based adaptation and

mitigation measures.

▪ Where GHG emissions may be significant, characterize and estimate potential sources of GHG

emissions related to programming activities to form a baseline for reducing such emissions,

providing such estimation is technically and financially feasible. The UN entity should support and

adopt GHG-accounting methodologies for programming activities according to good international

practice; and

▪ Protect, conserve and, where appropriate, incorporate carbon sinks in programming activities.

Carbon sinks absorb atmospheric carbon into plants, soils, wetlands and water.

55 See FAO, Climate Smart Agriculture.

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Thematic Area 3: Community Health, Safety and Security

Introduction

1. UN-entity programming typically targets improvements in social and economic opportunities and

outcomes for individuals and communities. This may include support for State obligations to promote

the right to health56 and enhancing employment, economic growth, education, social protection and

services. Programming activities, however, can also increase community exposure to health and

safety hazards and impacts. Potential negative impacts affecting health and safety may arise from a

broad range of supported activities, including from infrastructure development and construction

activities, changes in the nature and volume of traffic and transportation, water and sanitation issues,

use and management of hazardous materials and chemicals, impacts on natural resources and

ecosystems, the influx of project/programme labour, and potential abuses by security personnel.

2. The benchmark standards listed below address the need to avoid, and where avoidance is not

possible, to minimize and mitigate the health and safety-related risks and impacts that may arise from

programming activities, with particular attention given to marginalized or disadvantaged groups.

Measures to ensure occupational health and safety issues are addressed in the Labour and Working

Conditions thematic area.

Objectives

3. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Anticipate and avoid adverse impacts on health and safety of affected communities during the

programming life cycle, from both routine and non-routine circumstances;

▪ Ensure quality and safety in the design and construction of programming-related infrastructure,

preventing and minimizing potential safety risks and accidents;

▪ Avoid or minimize community exposure to disaster risks, diseases and hazardous materials

associated with programming activities;

▪ Ensure the safeguarding of personnel and property minimizes risks to communities and is carried

out in accordance with international human rights standards and principles; and

▪ Have in place effective measures to address emergency events, whether human-made or natural

hazards.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

4. General health and safety risk management. Ensure health and safety risks directly and indirectly

associated with programming activities are duly identified and appropriate avoidance, minimization,

and mitigation measures per the mitigation hierarchy are adopted. Ensure appropriate health and

56 The right to the highest attainable standard of health is a human right recognized in international human rights law. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Art. 12), widely considered as the central instrument of protection for the right to health, recognizes “the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” The right to health includes providing for the underlying determinants of health, such as safe and potable water, sanitation, food and nutrition, housing, healthy working and environmental conditions, health-related education and information, and gender equality. See OHCHR/WHO, The Right To Health, Fact Sheet 31.

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safety assessments are undertaken57 and management measures, plans and systems are in place

based on good international practice, tailored to the specific sector or activities in question, and

designed and carried out with appropriate health and safety expertise. Consider potential health and

safety risks and impacts throughout the programming cycle and ensure that the adopted

management measures are commensurate with the nature and magnitude of the identified risks and

impacts, taking into account differences in risk exposure and sensitivity of women and men, as well

as marginalized and disadvantaged groups, including children, older persons, persons with disabilities,

minorities and indigenous people. These measures shall favour the prevention or avoidance of risks

and impacts over their minimization and reduction. Consider risks of accidents and hazards, ensuring

to avoid exacerbating potential adverse impacts of natural and human-made hazards.58 Ensure that

programming-related accidents or incidents are appropriately recorded, reported and addressed.

Ensure that emergency preparedness and response plans are in place.

5. Community exposure to health issues. Avoid or minimize potential community exposure to health

risks (e.g. pollution, contaminated areas/resources) and diseases that could result from or be

exacerbated by programming activities, including water-related59 and vector-borne diseases,

communicable and non-communicable diseases, injuries, nutritional disorders, mental health and

well-being. Give due consideration to potential differentiated exposure and higher sensitivity of

health impacts on marginalized groups and those living in voluntary isolation.60 Avoid or minimize the

transmission of communicable diseases associated with the influx of labour to programming areas.

Where endemic diseases exist in the programming area (e.g. malaria), explore ways to improve

environmental conditions that could minimize the incidence of such diseases. Where programming

involves the provision of health services, incorporate antimicrobial stewardship.61

6. Infrastructure design and safety. Design, construct, operate, and decommission structural elements

supported or affected by programming in accordance with national legal requirements, good

international practice, and any relevant international obligations and standards.62 Potential safety

risks to third parties and communities shall be evaluated. Structural elements of any infrastructure

that poses significant health and safety risks shall be (i) designed and constructed by qualified

57 For example, a hazard assessment, health risk assessment (including where relevant an environmental health risk assessment or a chemical health risk assessment), health impact assessment, or a health needs assessment.

58 On human-made and technological hazards, see UNIDSR, Words into Action Guidelines: Implementation Guide for Man-made and Technological Hazards. Natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, storms, or extreme temperatures etc., can cause the release of dangerous substances from hazardous installations resulting in fires, explosions or toxic or radioactive releases. Such natural hazard-triggered technological accidents, or “Natech” accidents, are frequent in the wake of natural disasters and have often had severe and long-term consequences on the population, the environment and the economy. On natural hazard-triggered technological hazards (“Natech” hazards), see UNISDR, Words into Action Guidelines: 9. Natech Hazards and Risk Assessment (2017). See also the UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.

59 See for example the UNECE/WHO Protocol on Water and Health.

60 In order to address community exposure to health risks and to understand the social and environmental determinants of health of community members, a health impact assessment may be necessary and integrated into the overall environmental and social assessment. For further resources, see the WHO guidance on health impact assessments. For additional measures regarding people living in voluntary isolation, see the thematic area on Indigenous Peoples.

61 Antimicrobial stewardship is a coordinated program that promotes the appropriate use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics) that improves patient outcomes, reduces microbial resistance, and decreases the spread of infections caused by multidrug resistant organisms.

62 See also the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment.

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engineers and professionals, (ii) certified and approved by independent professionals not involved in

the design process, (iii) include appropriate plans for construction supervision and quality assurance,

operation and maintenance, and emergency preparedness, and (iv) require periodic safety

inspections and monitoring. Structural elements shall take into account climate change and disaster

risk considerations as appropriate. Consider geological and geophysical hazards and undertake

appropriate risk assessments where needed. If structural elements must be situated in a high-risk

location (e.g. seismic activity, risk of extreme weather or slow onset events), engage independent

experts with relevant experience to review the programming activities as early as possible and

throughout programming stages.63

7. Universal access. Ensure the concept of universal access is applied wherever feasible in the design

and construction of facilities and services open to or provided to the public.64

8. Construction safety. For programming-related construction activities, ensure appropriate control of

site access (e.g. fencing, security), use of appropriate personal protective equipment, safely designed

work platforms, appropriate engineering and administrative controls (e.g. detours, traffic calming,

signs), and safety barriers. Where public access is intended, consider incremental risks of public’s

potential exposure to operational accidents or natural hazards. Where relevant, identify, evaluate,

and monitor potential traffic and road safety risks associated with programming.

9. Hazardous materials management and safety. Avoid or minimize potential community exposure to

hazardous materials and substances that may be utilized in or released by programming activities.

Where potential exposure exists to health-and life-threatening hazards, including to workers and their

families, exercise special care to avoid such exposure by modifying, substituting, and eliminating the

condition or material causing potential hazard. Consider risks of exposure to hazardous material from

natural hazard-triggered accidents. If hazardous materials are part of the existing programming-

related infrastructure, exercise due care during construction, implementation and decommissioning

in order to avoid exposure. Exercise appropriate due diligence to control the safety of deliveries and

transportation and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes.

10. Emergency preparedness and response. Identify and implement measures to address emergency

events, defined as unanticipated incidents arising from both natural and human-made hazards,

typically in the form of fire, explosions, leaks or spills, caused by failure to implement operating

procedures, extreme weather, or lack of early warning. Ensure emergency preparations and response

63 Appropriate good international practice shall be followed in the construction, operation, rehabilitation, decommissioning of dam infrastructure. For large dams and dams that may pose significant safety risks, appoint an independent panel of experts to review the assessment, design, construction and start of dam operations. For small dams without significant safety risks (e.g. farm ponds, local silt retention dams, low embankment tanks), confirm that there are no or negligible risks of significant adverse impacts and ensure that dam construction and safety measures are designed by qualified engineers in accordance with good international practice. If the project/programme relies on an existing dam or a dam under construction, engage an independent dam specialist (a) to inspect and evaluate the dam’s safety status and performance history, (b) review and evaluate the dam’s operation and maintenance procedures, and (c) provide a written report and recommendation for any remedial work or safety measures needed.

64 Universal access includes unimpeded access for people of all ages and abilities in different situations and under various circumstances. Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls for “appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.”

39

plans are in place, resourced, reviewed, and publicized. Emergency preparations shall include

identification of areas where emergencies may occur, communities that may be impacted, response

procedures, provision of equipment and resources, designation of responsibilities, communications

and notification channels, and periodic training. Ensure emergency planning is gender sensitive and

participatory and consider differential impacts of emergency situations on men, women, older

persons, children, persons with disabilities, and marginalized or disadvantaged groups. Disclose

appropriate information on emergency response planning and review on a regular basis.

11. Risks associated with influx of project/programme workers. Ensure appropriate measures are taken

to avoid, mitigate and manage the risks and potential adverse impacts on health and safety arising

from the influx of workers into programming areas. Such risks and impacts may be associated with

changes in population composition, health implications and exposure to communicable diseases,

threats of sexual violence and harassment, crime, and increased vulnerability of communities due to

increased pressure on already scare natural resources. Implement measures that seek to protect

community members from such risks, including training, awareness-raising programmes and codes of

conduct for project/programme workers. Identify alternative means to remedy significant stress on

natural resources caused by increased population numbers.

12. Impacts on ecosystem services. Adverse impacts on ecosystem services may result in adverse health

and safety risks to communities (e.g. loss of natural buffers increasing flooding risks). Avoid or

minimize such adverse impacts and implement appropriate mitigation measures that aim to maintain

the value and functionality of ecosystem services of relevance to local communities, paying special

attention to avoid causing or exacerbating potential adverse impacts on marginalized and

disadvantaged groups. Where appropriate and feasible, identify potential risks and impacts on

ecosystem services that may be exacerbated by climate change.

13. Security-related issues and personnel. Ensure potential risks posed by programming-related security arrangements are assessed, personnel are appropriately vetted and trained, and that security arrangements are monitored and reported. Security arrangements shall adhere to applicable law and be provided in a manner that does not violate international human rights standards and principles or jeopardize community safety and security.65 Undertake reasonable inquiries to verify that potential security personnel have not been implicated in past abuses and review all allegations of unlawful or abusive acts. Take action (or require appropriate parties to take action) to prevent any recurrence of abuses and/or reprisals against individuals and communities. Where necessary, report unlawful and abusive acts to relevant authorities.

65 UN entities should follow the “Human rights due diligence policy on United Nations support for non-United Nations security forces” by which UN entities ensure that any support they may provide to non-UN forces is consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and with their responsibilities to respect, promote and encourage respect for international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. International human rights standards and principles include the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement officials, the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the International Code of Conduct on Private Security Providers.

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Thematic Area 4: Cultural Heritage

Introduction

1. Cultural heritage is central to individual and collective identity and memory, providing continuity

between the past, present and future. Cultural heritage reflects and expresses people’s constantly

evolving values, beliefs, knowledge, traditions and practices. Cultural heritage also serves a crucial

role within the sustainable development process through enhancing social cohesion, diversity, well-

being and the quality of life; supporting cultural rights by protecting the heritage of minority and

indigenous groups; fostering socio-economic regeneration; enhancing the appeal and creativity of

cities and regions; boosting long-term tourism benefits; and enhancing sustainable practices. Cultural

heritage resources are often unique and irreplaceable, and may be particularly fragile due to neglect,

exploitation, or even destruction given their symbolism.

2. The benchmark standards outlined below are designed to preserve, protect and promote cultural

heritage in UN-entity programming in a manner consistent with UNESCO cultural heritage

conventions or any other national or international legal instruments that might have a bearing on the

use of cultural heritage.66

3. The term “cultural heritage” includes tangible and intangible heritage which may be recognized and

valued at the local, regional, national, or global level,67 as follows:

▪ Tangible cultural heritage includes moveable or immovable objects, sites, structures, groups of

structures, human settlements and natural features and landscapes that have archaeological,

paleontological, historical, architectural, religious, aesthetic, or other cultural significance.

Tangible cultural heritage may be located in any setting and in any environment (e.g. above or

below ground or under water).

▪ Intangible cultural heritage, also referred to as living heritage, includes practices, representations,

expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces

associated therewith – that communities/groups recognize as part of their cultural heritage, as

transmitted from generation to generation and constantly recreated by them in response to their

environment, their interaction with nature and their history and provides them with a sense of

identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. This

may include: a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible

cultural heritage; b) performing arts; c) social practices, rituals and festive events; d) knowledge

and practices concerning nature and the universe; e) traditional craftsmanship.

66 These conventions include The Hague Convention (for Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict) (1954), The Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), The Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), The Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001), The Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005).See also the work of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) relating to intellectual property and the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

67 The listed elements and features do not need to be ancient in order to be considered Cultural Heritage and the benchmark standards do not apply an age limitation.

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Objectives

4. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Protect cultural heritage from damage, inappropriate alteration, disruption, removal or misuse

and support its preservation and safeguarding and protection;

▪ Ensure equitable sharing of benefits generated from integration and utilization of cultural

heritage in programming; and

▪ Promote meaningful consultation with stakeholders regarding preservation, protection,

utilization and management of cultural heritage.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

5. Avoidance of adverse impacts. Consider potential direct, indirect, irreversible and cumulative impacts

to cultural heritage. Avoid adverse impacts on cultural heritage, and where avoidance is not possible

– ensuring that all viable and feasible alternatives have been explored – minimize and mitigate

impacts per the mitigation hierarchy (e.g. relocating or modifying the footprint of supported activities,

in situ conservation and rehabilitation). Ensure activities do not contravene national or international

obligations regarding cultural heritage and implement globally recognized practices for field-study,

inventorying, documentation, and protection of cultural heritage. Ensure that supported activities

take into account and do not contribute to exacerbating disaster risk at cultural heritage sites.

Undertake an appropriate Heritage Impact Assessment68 and adopt a Cultural Heritage Management

Plan where adverse impacts to cultural heritage may be significant.

6. Chance find procedures. Include chance find procedures in all plans and contracts regarding

programming-related construction, including excavations, demolitions, movement of earth, flooding,

or other changes in the physical environment. Such procedures establish how chance finds of cultural

heritage shall be managed, including notification of relevant authorities and stakeholders, avoidance

of further disturbance or damage, protection, documentation and assessment of found objects by

relevant experts.

7. Community participation, stakeholder consultations and use of experts. Engage qualified cultural

heritage experts and relevant stakeholders to assist in the identification, documentation and

protection of potentially affected cultural heritage. Ensure meaningful, effective stakeholder

consultations are undertaken, including with local and national regulatory authorities entrusted with

the protection of cultural heritage; local, national or international cultural heritage experts and

organizations; and affected-parties, including individuals and communities who develop, have

developed, use or have used the potentially affected cultural heritage within living memory. Where

the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples may be affected by project/programme activities, ensure

that the requirements of the Indigenous Peoples thematic area are followed.

8. Continued access. Avoid restricting access of relevant communities to cultural heritage sites and to

the instruments, objects, artefacts, cultural and natural spaces and places of memory necessary for

expressing intangible cultural heritage. However, where this is not possible allow continued access

68 For example, see the ICOMOS Guidance on Heritage Impact Assessments for Cultural World Heritage Properties. Where supported activities may affect natural World Heritage sites, see IUCN World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment.

42

based on stakeholder consultations and provide alternative routes if access is blocked, subject to

overriding safety and security considerations.

9. Confidentiality and restricted access by communities. Together with stakeholders determine

whether disclosure of information regarding cultural heritage would compromise or jeopardize its

safety or integrity or endanger sources of information. In such cases, sensitive information may be

withheld from public disclosure. If communities affected by programming activities hold the location,

characteristics or traditional use of cultural heritage in secret, put in place measures to maintain

confidentiality. Respect customary practices enacted and conducted by the communities which

restrict access to certain specific aspects of intangible cultural heritage or to information about it.

10. Intangible cultural heritage. Respect the dynamic and living nature of intangible cultural heritage and

the right of communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals to continue the practices,

representations, expressions, knowledge and skills necessary to ensure the viability of their intangible

cultural heritage. Where programming may involve or affect intangible cultural heritage, ensure the

meaningful participation of concerned parties in identifying risks and impacts to their intangible

cultural heritage – including its decontextualization, commodification and misrepresentation – and in

determining appropriate mitigation and safeguarding measures. This includes in the identification,

inventorying, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement,

transmission, and revitalization of the various aspects of such heritage.

11. Integration and utilization of cultural heritage. Where programming activities propose to integrate

and utilize cultural heritage in programming, including the knowledge, innovations, and practices of

local communities, engage in meaningful consultations and inform the potentially affected

communities and stakeholders of their rights and potential consequences of such integration and

utilization. Where programming activities aim at facilitating commercial use by relevant communities

of cultural heritage as an option for them to consider, inform the communities of their rights and

options available to them. Programming activities that envisage supporting specific commercial

activities involving cultural heritage should not proceed unless good faith negotiations with relevant

affected communities have resulted in a successful documented outcome that provides for fair and

equitable benefit sharing from such commercial use and appropriate mitigation and safeguarding

measures are put in place per the mitigation hierarchy. Seek to ensure that any commercial use does

not distort the meaning and purpose of the cultural heritage for the community concerned. Where

programing activities propose the utilization of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, ensure

furthermore that the requirements of the Indigenous Peoples thematic area are followed.

12. Legally protected cultural heritage areas. Identify and avoid adverse impacts to legally protected

cultural heritage areas;69 comply with defined national or local cultural heritage regulations, protected

area management plans and/or conservation master plans; consult area sponsors and managers, local

communities, local governments, local and national heritage authorities and other key stakeholders;

and implement additional programs, as appropriate, to enhance conservation aims of protected

areas.

Further Provisions for Specific Types of Cultural Heritage

69 A Heritage Impact Assessment may be necessary, particularly for sites with an international designation such as cultural World Heritage sites.

43

13. Archaeological sites and materials. Where there is evidence or high probability of past human activity

in the programming area, conduct desk-based research and field surveys to document, map and

investigate archaeological remains, document location and characteristics of sites and materials

discovered during the programming life-cycle, provide documentation to cultural heritage authorities,

and provide documentation, with advice on due obligations, to relevant authorities undertaking

programming activities (e.g. departments of waterworks, agriculture, tourism, transportation and

energy). Determine in consultation with cultural heritage experts whether discovered material

requires (a) documentation only, (b) excavation and documentation, or (c) conservation in place, and

manage site accordingly. Most archaeological features are best protected by preservation in situ. If

not possible, transfer of the cultural heritage to another location shall be conducted in consultation

with and agreement of programming-affected people, in accordance with good international practice.

Determine ownership and custodial responsibility for discovered material. Until custody is

transferred, ensure identification, conservation, labeling, secure storage and accessibility for study

and analysis.

14. Built heritage. Identify appropriate mitigation measures to address potential impacts on built

heritage, which may include (a) documentation; (b) conservation or rehabilitation in situ, (c)

relocation, reconstruction and conservation or rehabilitation. Most built heritage features are best

protected by preservation in situ. If not possible, transfer of the cultural heritage to another location

shall be conducted in consultation with and agreement of programming-affected people, in

accordance with good international practice. During any rehabilitation, maintain authenticity of form,

construction materials and techniques of structures according to laws, regulations and good

international practice. Preserve physical and visual context of individual or groups of historic

structures by considering appropriateness and effect of supported infrastructure proposed for the

location within sight range.

15. Landscapes and natural features with cultural significance. Identify through research and

consultation with people affected by programming activities the landscape elements and natural

features with cultural significance, the people that value such elements and features, and individuals

or groups with authority to represent and negotiate regarding their location, protection, and use.

Landscapes and natural features derive much of their significance from their location and their holistic

environmental context, and often can only be protected by preservation in situ. Preserve physical and

visual integrity of landscapes by considering appropriateness and effect of programming activities

(e.g. infrastructure) proposed for the location within sight range. In cases where natural features can

physically be relocated and cannot be preserved in situ, their transfer to another location shall be

conducted with participation and agreement of programming-affected people, in accordance with

good international practice. Programming activities and any agreement reached regarding the

transfer of natural features shall respect and enable continuation and transmission of the traditional

practices associated with the landscape elements and natural features.

16. Movable Cultural Heritage. Take measures to guard against theft and illegal trafficking of movable

cultural heritage (e.g. books, paintings, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, textiles) and artefacts stored

and displayed in museums (or their equivalent) that are affected by programming activities and notify

relevant authorities if any such activity occurs. Identify items that may be endangered and make

provision for their protection throughout the programming life-cycle. Inform religious or secular

authorities or other responsible cultural heritage custodians of project/programme activities,

schedule and alert them regarding potential vulnerability of movable cultural heritage items.

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Thematic Area 5: Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement

Introduction

1. Programming-related land acquisition and/or restrictions on land use can lead to significant adverse

impacts on individuals and communities. Displacement of people from their original places of

residence and disruption of their economic activities and practices, if not appropriately planned and

mitigated, may give rise to severe impoverishment risks, including loss of livelihoods, homelessness,

food insecurity, and loss of socio-cultural cohesion, health and well-being.

2. Programming-related land acquisition and restrictions on land use may cause physical displacement

(i.e. relocation or loss of shelter), whether full or partial, permanent or temporary, or economic

displacement (i.e. loss of assets or access to assets that leads to loss of income sources or means of

livelihood). The term “involuntary resettlement” refers to these impacts whereby persons do not have

the choice to refuse displacement.

3. The UN entity shall seek to avoid involuntary resettlement in supported activities wherever possible.

However, the UN entity may be called upon to support partner activities that could lead to involuntary

resettlement of individuals or communities. Activities that lead to involuntary resettlement shall be

undertaken only in exceptional circumstances for the purpose of promoting the general welfare with

full justification, will be reasonable and proportional, and will provide appropriate forms of

compensation, assistance, legal protection and information according to the benchmark standards

herein, with special attention to ensuring such activities do not exacerbate impoverishment risks of

marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals. Where displacement leads to significant

adverse impacts, programming will support the economic and social reconstruction of affected

persons lives and livelihoods.

Objectives

4. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Avoid, or where avoidance is not possible, minimize and mitigate adverse impacts from land or

resource acquisition or restrictions on land or resource use;

▪ Prohibit forced evictions;

▪ Enhance and restore the livelihoods and living standards of all displaced persons and to improve

the living conditions and overall socioeconomic status of displaced poor and persons belonging

to marginalized or disadvantaged groups;

▪ Conceive and execute resettlement activities as sustainable development programs, providing

sufficient resources to enable displaced persons to benefit directly from programming activities;

▪ Ensure that resettlement activities are planned and implemented collaboratively with the

meaningful and informed participation of those affected.

5. The benchmark standards below apply to permanent or temporary physical and economic

displacement resulting from programming-related land or resource acquisition or restrictions on land

use or access to resources that people depend on, including the following types of land acquisition or

restrictions on land or resource use:

▪ Land rights or land use rights acquired or restricted through expropriation according to applicable

law or through negotiated settlement if the failure of negotiations would result in expropriation;

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▪ Restrictions on land use or access to natural resources of those with traditional or customary

tenure or recognizable usage rights;

▪ Displacement of people without formal, traditional recognizable usage rights who occupy or use

land prior to the established cutoff date;

▪ Displacement due to programming-related externalities such as pollution and impacts on

biodiversity or ecosystem services or the rendering of lands unusable or inaccessible; and

▪ Displacement occurring for associated facilities and/or activities significantly related to the

programming activities, or which occurred in anticipation of thereof.

6. The benchmark standards do not apply to (a) voluntary, legally recorded market transactions in which

the seller is fully informed about available choices and has the genuine right to retain the land and

refuse to sell it.70 However, if the sale may displace people, other than the seller, who occupy, use, or

claim rights to the land in question, these requirements shall apply; and (b) restrictions of access to

natural resources under community-based natural resource management arrangements where the

relevant community decides to restrict access to these resources based on an appropriate

community-decision making process that reflects voluntary, informed consensus.

7. UN entities typically do not lead efforts that may contribute to involuntary resettlement, which are

typically the responsibility of governments. However, a UN entity may be requested to support

aspects of a partner’s strategy or programme that could involve displacement activities. In such cases,

the UN entity shall undertake appropriate due diligence (including an analysis of the national partner’s

regulations regarding involuntary resettlement and those of the UN entity) before engaging in such

activities and advise partners to conduct displacement activities in a manner consistent with the

below benchmark standards.

8. For activities that may cause displacement of indigenous peoples, the benchmark standards of the

Indigenous Peoples thematic area shall also apply.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

9. Prohibit forced evictions, allowing evictions in exceptional circumstances only. Prohibit forced

evictions in all supported activities. Forced eviction is defined here as the permanent or temporary

removal against their will of individuals, families or communities from the homes and/or land which

they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.

Forced evictions constitute gross violations of a range of internationally recognized human rights.71

Any evictions that may be associated with programming activities shall be carried out lawfully, only in

exceptional circumstances for the purpose of promoting the general welfare with full justification, are

reasonable and proportional, follow due process standards, ensure full and fair compensation and

70 Due diligence is required to ensure that the seller truly has the right to retain the land and is not compelled to sell it and that the accepted price is in line with the existing replacement cost. This may involve reviewing relevant agreements and meeting relevant parties.

71 See UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 7: The right to adequate housing (Art. 11(1): Forced evictions (1997). Forced evictions are also prohibited by the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement (2007). See also UN Habitat/OHCHR, Forced Evictions, Fact Sheet No. 25/Rev.1 (2014).

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rehabilitation, and are carried out in full accordance with relevant provisions of international human

rights and humanitarian law.

10. Avoid and minimize displacement. Consider all feasible programming alternatives and measures to

avoid displacement. Where a comprehensive options assessment, including the “no action” scenario,

indicates that displacement is unavoidable, minimize its potential scale and demonstrate that any

programming-related land acquisition and/or restrictions on land use are limited to direct

programming requirements.

11. Planning and assessment. Where displacement cannot be avoided, utilize experienced professionals

in establishing baseline information, designing displacement activities and assessing potential risks

and impacts. Identify potentially affected persons, lands, and assets through census, socio-economic

surveys and evaluations, and asset inventories, including claims of affected groups not present as part

of census (e.g. seasonal resource users). Clarify the tenure rights and relationships of potentially

affected persons to affected lands and resources, including recognition of customary rights and

collective or communal forms of land tenure.72

12. Undertake an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) or equivalent to assess potential

environmental and social impacts of the proposed land acquisition and/or restrictions on land and/or

resource use and potential impacts on host communities where potential displacement may be

significant. Pay particular attention to the needs of affected persons who are marginalized and

disadvantaged. Risks posed by natural and human-made hazards should be considered and minimized

in the selection of any potential resettlement sites. Where potential displacement may be minimal,

an ESIA may not be required and negotiated settlements may be reached that provide fair and just

compensation for lost assets in accordance with the requirements herein.

13. Participation in planning and implementation. Ensure meaningful participation and collaboration of

affected communities, including host communities, throughout the programming cycle, including

during consideration of the rationale for proposed activities, alternative programming designs,

determination of eligibility and compensation, planning, development of action plans,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Ensure preferences of affected persons are integrated

into programming and that affected persons are informed of their rights and have access to effective

remedies, expertise, and legal advice.73 Ensure women’s perspectives are obtained and their interests

are factored into all aspects of planning and implementation. Engage affected marginalized and

disadvantaged groups and individuals, including elderly persons and persons with disabilities, and

ensure they are provided equal access to programming benefits and resources.

14. Undertake good-faith efforts to secure negotiated settlements with affected individuals and

communities, based on transparent, consistent and equitable compensation standards and

procedures to ensure that those people who enter into negotiated settlements maintain the same or

better income and livelihood status.

15. All relevant programming information, including draft action plans, shall be disclosed in a timely

manner in an accessible place and in a form and language(s) understandable to the affected persons.

72 Including where relevant to community forests, fishing area, fallow lands.

73 Affected persons should be provided, in understandable form, an explanation of relevant laws, regulations and the UN entity’s standards as well as be provided access to legal representation financed by programming activities.

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Compensation standards shall be disclosed and applied consistently, and eligibility cut-off dates shall

be well publicized. Provide affected persons with written justification in an accessible form and

language well in advance of initiation of land acquisition and restrictions on land use.

16. Develop plans to improve livelihoods. Where displacement cannot be avoided, develop action plans74

designed to enhance and restore the standards of living and livelihoods of all displaced persons and

communities and to improve the living conditions of physically displaced persons and displaced poor

persons and marginalized or disadvantaged individuals and groups in real terms compared to pre-

displacement levels.

17. Action plans to address displacement impacts will be proportionate to the risks and impacts

associated with programming activities. The degree of potential impacts is largely determined by the

scope of physical and economic displacement and the vulnerability of affected persons.

18. Where impacts on the entire displaced population are minor, an abbreviated action plan may be

developed that establishes eligibility criteria for affected persons; compensation procedures and

standards at full replacement costs designed at a minimum to restore affected persons assets and

livelihoods; and arrangement for participation and collaboration of affected persons. Impacts are

considered “minor” if affected persons are not physically displaced, are relatively few in number, and

if activities involve minor land acquisition (affecting less than 10 percent of productive assets) and do

not have significant livelihood impacts.

19. Action plans for activities involving physical displacement or economic displacement with significant

social and economic impacts on affected persons are to be conceived and executed as sustainable

development programs that provide sufficient resources and opportunities to enable displaced

persons to benefit directly from programming activities and that seek to improve affected persons

livelihoods and living standards. Such plans will at a minimum address the following relevant

elements, taking into account the full social and economic costs to displaced persons:

▪ Establish eligibility criteria, cutoff dates, and entitlements for all categories of affected persons;

▪ Provide (a) fair and just compensation at full replacement cost (based where relevant on the

cost of replacement at resettled sites and locations) prior to displacement, for any losses of

personal, real or other property or goods, noting that compensation and support may be

collective in nature; (b) transitional support (both financial and in-kind) based on reasonable

estimates of the time required to restore and improve income-earning capacity, production

levels, and standards of living; and (c) development assistance such as land development, credit

facilities, direct benefits, training or employment opportunities, and provision of expertise, as

appropriate. The combination of compensation, transitional support and development

assistance will aim to improve pre-displacement productive capacity and earning potential of

displaced persons;

74 Such as a Resettlement Action Plan and/or for economic displacement a Livelihood Action Plan. Displacement activities may also at times be conceptualized as a community development plan. Where the specific locations and magnitude of potential land acquisition and restrictions of land use are not fully known during preparation of programming activities, framework action plans may be developed that would require further specific action plans once programming components are defined and assessed. In all cases, actions plans are to address the benchmark standards of this thematic area.

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▪ Provide to displaced individuals and communities secure access to necessary services, shelter,

food, water, energy, and sanitation, as applicable;

▪ Consider gender aspects, recognizing women and men as co-beneficiaries and providing single

women with their own compensation; and

▪ Ensure impoverished individuals and marginalized or disadvantaged persons and groups are

provided equal access to programming benefits and resources.

20. Physical displacement. Where programming activities involve physical displacement, the action plan

shall address the following additional elements:

▪ Specify the resettlement options chosen by displaced persons, respecting preferences to

relocate in pre-existing communities wherever possible, and document all transactions;

▪ Provide a choice of replacement property with secure tenure75 of higher value and better

characteristics wherever possible76 for affected persons or communities with formal land rights

or recognizable claims.77 Land-based resettlement strategies will be utilized when affected

livelihoods are land-based or where land is collectively owned.78

▪ Ensure resettlement sites provide adequate housing with improved living conditions, necessary

civic infrastructure and services. For housing to be adequate, it must, at a minimum, meet the

following criteria: providing security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and

infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy;79

▪ For affected persons without formal land rights or recognizable claims, compensate for loss of

assets other than land (e.g. dwellings, other improvements) at full replacement costs, provide

resettlement assistance in lieu of compensation for land sufficient to restore and improve living

standards at an adequate alternative site, and provide arrangements to allow them to obtain

adequate housing with security of tenure so they can resettle without facing the risk of forced

eviction;

▪ Stipulate that compensation is not required for encroachers after the established cut-off date,

provided that the date has been well publicized.

75 Security of tenure means that resettled individuals or communities are resettled to a site that the can legally occupy, where they are protected from the risk of eviction and where the tenure rights provided to them are socially and culturally appropriate. Activities that involve physical displacement should adhere to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT).

76 Replacement property must at a minimum be of equal value of lost assets, with additional investment provided by supported activities to improve its value and characteristics.

77 It may be appropriate to negotiate in situ land development arrangements whereby displaced persons or communities accept partial loss of land for improvements that increase property value.

78 Cash compensation for replacement property and assets is discouraged. Payment of cash compensation for lost land and other assets may be appropriate where livelihoods are not land-based or livelihoods are land-based but the land taken is a small fraction of the affected asset and the residual land is economically viable.

79 See OHCHR/UN Habitat, The Right to Adequate Housing, Fact Sheet 21/Rev. 1.

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21. Economic displacement. Where programming activities involve economic displacement with

significant social and economic impacts, the action plan shall address the following additional

elements:

▪ Ensure compensation covers all commercial losses (including costs of transfer and re-

establishing commercial activity, lost net income during transition, lost employee wages) and for

other assets such as crops, irrigation infrastructure or other improvements to affected areas;

▪ Provide replacement property of improved value where legitimate tenure rights (both formal

and informal) are restricted. Provide replacement agricultural sites of superior productive

potential wherever possible, including through investments in increasing productivity. If it is

clearly demonstrated that replacement land and resources are unavailable, offer cash

compensation at full replacement cost and options and support for alternative income earning

with evidence of mutual agreement;

▪ Compensate economically displaced persons who are without legally recognizable claims to land

for lost assets other than land (e.g. crops, irrigation infrastructure, other improvements made to

the land), at full replacement cost;

▪ Where displaced livelihoods are natural resource based, offer replacement land and access to

alternative resources with a combination of productive potential, locational advantage, and

other factors with improved livelihood-earning potential and accessibility, wherever feasible.

Provide alternative income earning opportunities and support if it is demonstrably not possible

to provide replacement land and resources;

▪ If the programming activities restrict access to resources in legally designated parks or protected

areas or other common property resources, establish a collaborative process with affected

persons and communities to negotiate and determine appropriate restrictions and mitigation

measures to improve affected livelihoods while maintaining the sustainability of the park or

protected area.

22. Prior displacement. Where displacement has occurred in anticipation of supported activities and

involvement of the UN entity, the benchmark standards herein shall apply. An audit will be conducted

to identify any gaps of past activities against the benchmark standards herein and the corrective

actions that may be required to address the benchmark standards. Where an unoccupied site is

provided from which prior residents were displaced but not in anticipation of the supported activities,

undertake appropriate due diligence and determine if corrective actions are feasible and could be

integrated into the programming.

23. Redress and grievance mechanism. Ensure potentially displaced persons have access to legal advice

prior to displacement and access to judicial or administrative remedies as may be available. Ensure

an effective grievance mechanism is available to address specific concerns of affected persons

regarding all phases of the resettlement process, including planning, consultations, compensation,

relocation, livelihood restoration or other programming-related issues. Grievance mechanisms are to

meet the effectiveness criteria for such mechanisms in the Stakeholder Engagement and

Accountability thematic area.

24. Monitoring and completion analysis. Provide for independent monitoring by qualified experts of

implementation of any action plans. Consult with directly-affected persons on implementation of

plans and consider collaborative monitoring with affected persons and communities. Prepare periodic

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monitoring reports and inform affected persons about monitoring results. Develop a long-term

monitoring plan to assess impacts on standards of living of displaced persons. Ensure adequate budget

is provided for monitoring activities. Programming activities involving displacement shall not be

considered complete until adverse impacts are addressed, and plans are implemented. Utilizing

experienced independent experts, undertake a completion analysis whether the objectives of the

action plans were achieved, taking into account baseline conditions, and where necessary, propose

corrective actions.

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Thematic Area 6: Indigenous Peoples

Introduction

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human

rights and fundamental freedoms. Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other

peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination. Indigenous

peoples possess collective human rights which are indispensable for their existence, well-being and

development as peoples. The special relationships that indigenous peoples have with their lands,

territories, resources and cultural heritage are integral to their physical, spiritual and cultural survival.

2. The promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, especially concerning their lands,

territories, resources, traditional livelihoods, tangible and intangible cultural heritage are central to

respecting indigenous peoples’ identities and improving their well-being.

3. The UN entity shall work in partnership with indigenous peoples and support their right to determine

and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development and contribute to the

realization of the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,80

the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169),81 and other relevant international

instruments.

4. The UN has established various mechanisms to promote indigenous peoples’ rights, dialogue and

partnerships, including the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Special

Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). The ILO has supervisory bodies monitoring the application of Indigenous

and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). In 2008, the then United Nations Development Group

(UNDG, now UNSDG), adopted Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples Issues to guide the programming

and operational work of all UN entities.82 The Secretary General in 2016 launched the UN System-

wide action plan for ensuring a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Support and coordination mechanisms

have also been established, such as the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues (IASG) which

was established to support and promote the mandate of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous

Issues within the United Nations system.83 In addition, some agencies and entities have also

established policies, funds and participatory mechanisms.84

Objectives

5. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Recognize and foster full respect for indigenous peoples and their human rights, dignity, cultural

uniqueness, autonomy, identity, and aspirations;

80 See the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

81 See ILO Convention No. 169 and the guidance on the Convention contained in ILO, Handbook for ILO Tripartite Constituents: Understanding the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Convention, 1989 (No. 169), 2013.

82 See the UNDG Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues.

83 See the UN system-wide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples.

84 For example, IFAD’s Indigenous Peoples Forum and the Indigenous Peoples' Assistance Facility, the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Groups at the GEF and GCF, the CBD’s Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UNFCCC’s platform on indigenous and local communities, among others.

52

▪ Promote indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and development with culture and

identity;

▪ Recognize and respect the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories, and resources

that they have traditionally owned, occupied, or otherwise used or acquired;

▪ Recognize, respect, protect and preserve indigenous peoples’ culture, knowledge, and practices;

▪ Promote interventions designed, managed, and implemented by indigenous peoples;

▪ Ensure that programming is designed in partnership with indigenous peoples, with their full

effective and meaningful consultation and participation, with the objective of obtaining their

free, prior and informed consent (FPIC);

▪ Support countries to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of indigenous peoples;

▪ Avoid adverse impacts on indigenous peoples from supported activities, and minimize, mitigate

and remedy adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible; and

▪ Ensure indigenous peoples obtain fair and equitable benefits and opportunities from supported

activities in a culturally appropriate and inclusive manner.

6. The benchmark standards below apply to all programming which may affect or benefit indigenous

peoples’ rights to lands, territories, natural resources, knowledge, social fabric, traditions, governance

systems, and cultural heritage.

7. Identification of indigenous peoples. The international community has not adopted a single definition

of indigenous peoples and the prevailing view today is that no formal universal definition is necessary

for the recognition and protection of their rights. Generally speaking, according to the UN,

“indigenous peoples” refers to distinct collectives who possess any of the more commonly accepted

definitions of indigenous peoples,85 with self-identification as a distinct peoples as a fundamental

criterion, regardless of the local, national and regional terms applied to them. Other key

characteristics of these definitions may include the following: voluntary perpetuation of cultural

distinctiveness (e.g. languages, laws, customary cultural, social, economic or political institutions);

collective attachment to the lands, territories and resources they have traditionally owned, occupied

or otherwise used or acquired; traditional livelihoods and tangible and intangible cultural heritage

associated to their lands, territories, and resources; priority in time with respect to occupation and

use of specific territory; and an experience of subjugation, marginalization, dispossession, exclusion

or discrimination, whether or not these conditions persist. Indigenous peoples may have a distinct

language or dialect, often different from the official language or languages of the country or region in

which they reside.

8. Indigenous peoples include those indigenous peoples who have lost access to lands, territories or

resources because of forced severance, conflict, government resettlement, dispossession, natural

disasters, or incorporation of lands into urban areas, but that still maintain collective attachment to

those lands, territories and resources.

9. Indigenous peoples might not be recognized by the country in question or possess recognized title to

lands, territories or resources. In some countries, indigenous peoples may be referred to by other

85 Including but not limited to those provided for in ILO Convention No. 169; the Study on the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations (the Martinez Cobo Study); and the Working paper on the concept of "indigenous people" of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (Commission on Human Rights) (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.4/1996/2).

53

terms, such as “ethnic groups or minorities,” “aboriginals,” “hill tribes,” “minority nationalities,”

“scheduled tribes,” “first nations,” “tribal groups,” “pastoralists,” “hunter-gatherers,” “nomadic

groups” or “forest dwellers,” or other terms. Regardless of which terminology is used, the benchmark

standards herein shall apply to groups that satisfy the above characteristics.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

10. Meaningful consultation and participation. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own

priorities and to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect them, through

representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures. In supported

programming, ensure meaningful consultation and participation of indigenous peoples who may be

affected by programming activities. The perspective of the indigenous peoples concerned whether

proposed activities may affect them should be a starting point for assessing whether an activity may

affect them. Engagement should begin as early as possible in programming conceptualization and

continue throughout all aspects of the programming cycle, including design, risk identification and

assessment, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

11. Conduct engagement processes with indigenous peoples in good faith, in a culturally appropriate

manner, with due regard to indigenous peoples’ institutions, customs, and traditional methods of

decision-making. Design and undertake engagement processes in full partnership with indigenous

peoples. Engagement processes should be gender and inter-generationally inclusive, paying particular

attention to groups and individuals at risk of marginalization and exclusion.

12. Initiate engagement processes sufficiently in advance of any authorization or commencement of

activities, with timely availability of all relevant programming information, including full and

understandable information on likely potential impacts, provided in a culturally appropriate manner

and in relevant indigenous languages whenever possible. Engagement processes need to consider the

time requirements of indigenous peoples’ internal processes for decision-making, and be free from

any coercion, intimidation or manipulation.

13. Carry out engagement processes with the objective of obtaining indigenous peoples’ free, prior and

informed consent (FPIC) regarding programming activities that may affect the indigenous peoples’

rights, lands, territories, natural resources, traditional livelihoods, tangible and intangible cultural

heritage, including activities proposing the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, forest,

water or other resources. Engagement processes require at a minimum documentation of (i) a

mutually accepted process to carry out good faith negotiations, (ii) outcomes of good faith

negotiations, including all agreements reached as well as disagreements and dissenting views, and (iii)

efforts aimed at accommodating indigenous peoples’ expressed interest and concerns in the final

programming design. Reaching agreement or consent helps to ensure full partnership and ownership

of supported activities with indigenous peoples who may be impacted by programming activities.

Where agreement or consent cannot be ascertained in such circumstances, adjustments of the

relevant activities are to be made, including in all likelihood a decision by the UN entity to exclude

from programming the activities for which agreement or consent still cannot be ascertained

14. Prior assessment and avoidance of impacts. Carry out environmental and social analysis for

programming that may affect indigenous peoples as part of design process. Verify if indigenous

peoples inhabit proposed programming areas and/or if activities may affect indigenous peoples

outside of such areas. The perspective of the indigenous peoples concerned is a critical starting point

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for impact assessment and the indigenous peoples concerned should have ample opportunities as

early as possible to participate in the assessment and development of avoidance and mitigation

measures. Indigenous and traditional knowledge is a valuable resource for identifying and addressing

potential risks, including hazards and disaster risks, and should be incorporated throughout the

programme cycle. Assess all potential direct, indirect, social, environmental, cultural, and spiritual

impacts on indigenous peoples, including potential impacts on their rights, lands, territories, and

resources.86 Review of all substantive rights, property interests, tenurial arrangements, and traditional

resource usage may be required. Avoid adverse impacts on indigenous peoples to the maximum

extent possible, including exploration of alternative programming strategies, designs and locations or

consideration of not proceeding with the activities. Where avoidance of adverse impacts is not

possible, minimize and mitigate residual impacts in a culturally appropriate manner per the mitigation

hierarchy.

15. Culturally appropriate benefits. Ensure that affected indigenous peoples are able to derive benefits

from programming activities in a culturally appropriate and inclusive manner giving full consideration

to options preferred by the indigenous peoples concerned. The provision of compensation and

benefits is to take into account the institutions, rules, and customs of affected indigenous peoples

and may occur on a collective basis with mechanisms for effective distribution of benefits to all

members of affected groups, as far as practical. Indigenous peoples affected by programming

activities should share equitably in benefits derived from any commercial development of indigenous

peoples’ lands, territories or resources or from the use or development of indigenous peoples’ cultural

heritage.

16. Support rights to lands, territories, and resources. Indigenous peoples have collective rights to own,

use, develop, and control lands, territories (which may include waters) and resources that they have

traditionally owned, occupied, or otherwise used or acquired. Avoid programming activities that may

undermine or inadvertently weaken such rights. Where appropriate and/or necessary, support

activities that would result in legal recognition of customary or traditional land tenure and

management systems and collective rights of programming-affected indigenous peoples, including

through the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure

of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT).87

17. People living in voluntary isolation or initial contact. Where supported activities may directly or

indirectly impact indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation or initial contact, take all appropriate

measures to avoid undesired contact and to respect and protect their lands and territories,

environment, health and culture. Where relevant, assist national authorities to limit access and to

regularize lands of groups living in isolation.

86 See Convention on Biological Diversity: The Akwé: Kon Voluntary Guidelines for the Conduct of Cultural, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments Regarding Developments Proposed to Take Place on, or which are Likely to Impact on, Sacred Sites and on Lands and Waters Traditionally Occupied or Used by Indigenous and Local Communities (CBD Decision VII/16). The Guidelines provide advice on how to incorporate cultural, environmental (including biodiversity-related), and social considerations of indigenous and local communities into new or existing impact-assessment procedures, to ensure appropriate development. They support the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities in screening, scoping and development planning exercises, taking into account their traditional knowledge, innovations and practices.

87 See Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT).

55

18. Special considerations. Ensure that programming pays particular attention to the rights and special

needs of indigenous women, youth, children, and persons with disabilities. Seek to ensure that there

is no discrimination against such groups and give special consideration to measures to improve their

participation in decision-making and their general well-being.

19. Relocation. Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands and territories. Where,

as an exceptional measure, relocation cannot be avoided, it shall take place only after seeking free,

prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the indigenous peoples concerned and in line with national law,

international human rights obligations and the requirements herein.

20. Cultural heritage. In addition to the relevant benchmark standards under the Cultural Heritage

thematic area, where supported activities may lead to significant adverse impacts to the cultural

heritage of indigenous peoples, consult and cooperate in good faith with the affected indigenous

peoples with the objective of obtaining their free, prior and informed consent before the approval of

the relevant activities. If indigenous peoples affected by programming activities hold the location,

characteristics or traditional use of cultural heritage in secret, put in place measures to maintain

confidentiality.88

21. Plans to address impacts and benefits. Develop a time-bound action plan for programming activities

that may affect indigenous peoples’ rights, lands, territories, resources, traditional livelihoods, and

cultural heritage (such as Indigenous Peoples Plan or an Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework if

specific activities and locations have not yet been determined). The action plan shall identify potential

risks and impacts, risk avoidance and mitigation measures, and measures for provision of culturally

appropriate benefits, continued consultation and participation processes, grievance procedures,

monitoring and evaluation procedures, and a budget and financial plan for implementing agreed

measures. Where programming activities are designed solely to benefit indigenous peoples, a

separate action plan may not be required provided programming documentation addresses the above

elements.

22. Grievance Mechanism. Ensure an effective, culturally appropriate, accessible grievance redress

mechanism is established for the programming activities, with due consideration of customary

dispute settlement mechanisms among the indigenous peoples concerned. The development of the

grievance mechanism should be part of the full, effective and meaningful consultation and

participation processes and should be specified in any negotiated agreements. While it is advisable to

address any feedback and concern of affected parties at the local level, the local feedback and

complaints mechanism should be supplemented by an entity-level Independent Accountability

Mechanism as a recourse for grievances that are not solved locally (see the section on Stakeholder

Engagement and Accountability).

23. Monitoring. Involve knowledgeable experts and ensure indigenous peoples affected by programming

activities shall jointly monitor implementation throughout the full duration of the programming cycle.

88 See Convention on Biological Diversity: The Tkarihwaié:ri Code of Ethical Conduct to Ensure Respect for the Cultural and Intellectual Heritage of Indigenous and Local Communities (CBD Decision X/42).

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Thematic Area 7: Labour and Working Conditions

Introduction

1. The pursuit of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and

decent work for all requires the protection of workers’ fundamental rights, their fair treatment, and

the provision of safe and healthy working conditions. Programming activities shall enhance

employment promotion benefits, development outcomes and sustainability by ensuring sound

worker-management relationships and cooperation in their design and implementation. The

benchmark standards set out herein have been guided by a number of international conventions and

instruments, including those of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations

(UN).89

Objectives

2. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Promote, respect and realize fundamental principles and rights at work90 through:

o Supporting freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective

bargaining;

o Preventing the use of child labour and forced labour;

o Preventing discrimination and promoting equal opportunity of workers;

▪ Protect and promote the safety and health of workers;

▪ Ensure projects/programmes comply with national employment and labour laws and

international commitments; and

▪ Leave no one behind by protecting and supporting workers in disadvantaged and vulnerable

situations, including a special focus, as appropriate, on women workers, young workers, migrant

workers and workers with disabilities.

3. The benchmark standards regarding labour and working conditions shall apply to all workers

employed or engaged directly by a project/programme to work specifically in relation to the

89 These conventions include among others:

ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize ILO Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labour and Protocol of 2014 ILO Convention 105 on the Abolition of Forced Labour ILO Convention 138 on Minimum Age (of Employment) ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour ILO Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration ILO Convention 111 on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) ILO Convention 155 on Occupational Safety and Health ILO Convention 161 on Occupational Health Services UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 32.1UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families

90 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998).

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project/programme (direct workers), by third parties91 to perform work related to the core functions92

of the project/programme regardless of location (contractor workers), and by its primary suppliers93

(primary supplier workers). The benchmark standards shall apply to full-time, part-time, temporary,

seasonal and migrant workers, and are to be addressed by the party or parties responsible for

implementing the project/programme.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

4. Terms and conditions of employment. Ensure that applicable written human resources management

policies and processes are in place. These policies and processes shall set out the conditions in which

project/programme workers will be employed or engaged and managed, in accordance with the

standards herein and national law.94 95 The policies and processes shall be appropriate to the size,

locations and workforce of project/programme activities.

5. Provide project/programme workers with information and documentation that is clear and

understandable regarding their terms and conditions of employment, including information that sets

out their rights under national labour, employment and social protection law (including any applicable

collective agreements), and their rights related to hours of work, wages, overtime, compensation and

benefits, occupational safety and health and the benchmark standards herein.96 This information and

documentation shall be provided at the beginning of the working relationship and when any material

changes to the terms or conditions of employment or engagement occur.

6. Project/programme workers shall be paid on a regular basis as required by human resources

management policies and national law.97 Deductions from payment of wages shall only be made as

allowed by human resources management policies and national law, and project/programme workers

shall be informed of the conditions under which such deductions will be made. Project/programme

workers shall be provided with adequate periods of rest per week, annual holiday and sick, maternity

and family leave, as required by human resources management policies and national law.

7. Project/programme workers shall receive written notice of termination of employment and details of

severance payments in a timely manner as required by national law or human resources management

policies. Terminations shall be carried out in a non-discriminatory manner and, when applicable, after

consultation with workers or their trade union. All wages that have been earned, social security

benefits, pension contributions and any other entitlements shall be paid, either directly to the

91 “Third parties” may include contractors, subcontractors, brokers, agents or intermediaries.

92 “Core functions” of a project/programme constitute those production and/or service processes essential for a specific activity without which the project/programme cannot continue.

93 “Primary suppliers” are those suppliers who, on an ongoing basis, provide directly to the project/programme goods or materials essential for the core functions of the project/programme.

94 The requirements, whether herein or in national law, that are the most protective of workers shall apply unless the application of requirements herein would violate national law.

95 For project/programme workers who are employed or engaged by the United Nations and its specialized agencies, conditions of employment are governed by the respective entity’s internal rules, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, 1946.

96 Ibid.

97 Ibid.

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project/programme workers or, where appropriate, for the benefit of the project/programme

workers. Where payments are made for the benefit of project/programme workers, such workers

shall be provided with evidence of such payments.

8. Non-discrimination and equal opportunity. Decisions relating to the employment or treatment of

project/programme workers shall not be made on the basis of personal characteristics unrelated to

inherent job requirements.98 The employment of project/programme workers shall be based on the

principle of equality of opportunity and treatment, and there shall be no discrimination with respect

to any aspects of the employment relationship, such as recruitment and hiring, compensation

(including wages and benefits), working conditions and terms of employment, access to training, job

assignment, promotion, termination of employment or retirement, or disciplinary practices. Women

and men shall receive equal remuneration for work of equal value. The human resources management

policies shall set out measures to prevent and address violence, harassment, intimidation and/or

exploitation. Where national law is inconsistent with this paragraph, carry out activities in a manner

that is consistent with these benchmark standards to the extent possible.

9. Special measures of protection and assistance to remedy discrimination or selection for a particular

job based on the inherent requirements of the job shall not be deemed as discrimination.

10. Provide appropriate measures of protection and assistance to address the vulnerabilities of

project/programme workers, including specific groups of workers, such as women, persons with

disabilities, migrant workers and young workers. Such measures may be necessary only for specific

periods of time, depending on the worker’s circumstances and the nature of the vulnerability. The

terms and conditions of employment of project/programme workers who are migrants (domestic or

foreign) shall be the same or substantially equivalent to those of non-migrant project/programme

workers performing the same type of work.

11. Workers organizations. In countries where national law recognizes workers’ rights to form and to join

workers’ organizations of their choosing and to bargain collectively without interference, the

project/programme shall be implemented in accordance with national law. In such circumstances, the

role of legally established workers’ organizations and legitimate workers’ representatives shall be

respected and shall be provided with information needed for meaningful negotiation in a timely

manner. Where national law restricts workers’ organizations, the responsible party shall not restrict

project/programme workers from developing alternative mechanisms to express their grievances and

protect their rights regarding working conditions and terms of employment and shall not seek to

influence or control these alternative mechanisms. The responsible party shall not discriminate or

retaliate against project/programme workers who participate, or seek to participate, in such workers’

organizations and collective bargaining or alternative mechanisms.

12. Forced labour. Forced labour, which consists of any work or service not voluntarily99 performed that

is exacted from an individual under threat of force or penalty, shall not be used in connection with

98 Such as gender, sex, race, colour, nationality, national extraction, political opinion, affiliation or non-affiliation to a union, ethnic, social or indigenous origin, religion of belief, marital or family status, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity.

99 Work is on a voluntary basis when it is done with the free and informed consent of a worker. Such consent must exist throughout the employment relationship and the worker must have the possibility to revoke freely given consent. In particular, there can be no “voluntary offer” under threat or other circumstances of restriction or deceit. To assess the authenticity of a

59

the project/programme.100 This prohibition covers any kind of involuntary or compulsory labour, such

as indentured labour, bonded labour, or similar labour-contracting arrangements. No trafficked

persons shall be employed in connection with the programming activities.101

13. Where cases of forced labour are identified, immediate steps shall be taken to correct and remedy

them.

14. Child labour. Child labour, which consists of employment of children below the minimum age of

employment as defined by the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and ILO Worst Forms of

Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), shall not be used in connection with or arise from the

programming activities.

15. A minimum age for employment shall be specified in connection with the programming activities, as

determined by national law and consistent with the ILO Convention No. 138.102

16. Regardless of the minimum age for employment, a child under the age of 18 may not perform work

in connection with or arising from the programming activities which, by its nature or the

circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm his/her health, safety or morals. Such work is

determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority and commonly specified in

national lists of hazardous work prohibited to children. In the absence of such regulations, guidance

on hazardous work to be prohibited in connection with programming should derive from the relevant

ILO instruments.103 In addition, a child under the age of 18 may not, in connection with the

programming activities, perform work that is likely to interfere with his/her compulsory education or

be harmful to his/her physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

17. Where cases of child labour are identified, immediate steps shall be taken to correct and remedy

them, including the rehabilitation and social integration of the child where necessary and appropriate.

18. Occupational safety and health (OSH). Necessary processes and measures that address the safety

and health of project/programme workers shall be in place to support programming design, planning

free and informed consent, it is necessary to ensure that no external constraint or indirect coercion has been carried out, either by an act of the authorities or by an employer’s practice.

100 See the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29), as well as the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention.

101 Trafficking in persons is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purposes of exploitation. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking practices.

102To be consistent with the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the applicable minimum age will not be less than

the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in principle, not less than 15 years. 103 See ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) and ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190). Examples of hazardous work activities prohibited for children include work: (a) with exposure to physical, psychological or sexual abuse; (b) underground, underwater, working at heights or in confined spaces; (c) with dangerous machinery, equipment or tools, or involving handling or transport of heavy loads; (d) in unhealthy environments exposing children to hazardous substances, agents, or processes, or to temperatures, noise or vibration damaging to health; or (e) under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours, during the night or in unreasonable confinement on the premises of the employer.

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and implementation. These processes and measures may be encompassed and implemented through

the responsible party’s occupational safety and health management system104 and shall address:

(a) Identification and assessment of potential hazards and risks, particularly those that could

result in serious injury, ill health or death and those identified through worker health surveillance;

(b) The elimination of hazards and minimization of risks through the implementation of preventive

and protective measures implemented in the following order of priority: elimination or

substitution, engineering and organizational controls, administrative controls, and where residual

hazards and risks cannot be controlled through these collective measures, provision of personal

protective equipment at no cost to the worker;

(c) Safety and health training, including on the proper use and maintenance of personal protective

equipment, at no cost to workers conducted by competent persons and the maintenance of

training records;

(d) Recording and notification of occupational accidents and incidents and any resulting injuries,

ill health or death;

(e) Emergency prevention and preparedness and response arrangements to emergency

situations; and

(f) Employment injury benefits and/or remedies for adverse impacts such as occupational injuries,

disability, ill health or disease and death. 105

19. All parties who employ or engage project/programme workers put in place the above safety and

health processes and measures106 to prevent and protect workers from chemical, physical, biological

and psychosocial hazards (including violence and harassment) and to establish and maintain safe and

healthy workplaces including the work environment, organization, processes, tools machinery and

equipment.107 Such parties shall actively consult and collaborate with project/programme workers

and promote their understanding and participation in the implementation of safety and health

measures, as well as provide them information, training and personal protective equipment.

Mechanisms shall be used for consultation and participation of project/programme workers, such as

worker safety representatives or joint worker-management safety and health committees.

20. Workplace mechanisms shall be made available for project/programme workers to report work

situations that they believe are not safe or healthy and to remove themselves from a work situation

they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to their life or

health. Project/programme workers who remove themselves from such situations shall not be

required to return to work until necessary remedial action to correct the situation has been taken,

and shall not be retaliated against or otherwise subject to reprisal or negative action.

104 ILO Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management systems, 2001. See also United Nations Common System Occupational Safety and Health Framework, Chief Executives Board, 31 March 2015

105 These would include for example necessary insurance arrangements that ensure access to health benefits and replacement of loss of earnings in case of a work-related injury, namely in case of death or an illness due to work.

106 OSH measures should take into consideration ILO Codes of Practice and Good International Industry Practice where applicable.

107 See also ILO Conventions 167, 184, and 176 on OSH in Construction, Agriculture and Mining

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21. Project/programme workers shall be provided with safe and healthy facilities appropriate to the

circumstances of their work, including access to canteens, hygiene facilities, and appropriate areas for

rest. Where accommodation services are provided to project/programme workers, policies shall be

put in place and implemented on the management and quality of accommodation to protect and

promote the health, safety, and well-being of the project/programme workers, and to provide access

to or provision of services that accommodate their physical, social and cultural needs.

22. Where more than one party are employing or engaging workers and such workers are working

together in one location, the parties who employ or engage the workers shall collaborate in applying

the OSH measures, without prejudice to the responsibility of each party for the safety and health of

its own workers. The design and implementation of OSH measures shall be reviewed and necessary

action taken in the event of significant changes in the working conditions or workers.

23. A process for conducting accident investigations and regular evaluation of preventive and protective

measures and OSH performance shall be put in place and necessary corrective actions shall be

adopted based on the results of such investigations and evaluations.

24. Workplace grievance mechanism. A grievance mechanism shall be provided for all

project/programme workers (and, where relevant, their organizations) to raise concerns of violations

of existing rights and entitlements as provided for in legislation, collective agreements, employment

contracts and human resources policies. Workers shall be informed of the grievance mechanism at

the time of recruitment and the measures put in place to protect them against any reprisal for its use.

Measures shall be put in place to make the grievance mechanism easily accessible to all such

project/programme workers.

25. The grievance mechanism shall be designed to address workers’ concerns promptly, using an

understandable, transparent process that provides timely feedback to those concerned in a language

they understand, without any retribution, and shall operate in an independent and objective manner.

The grievance mechanism may utilize existing grievance mechanisms, providing that they are properly

designed and implemented, address concerns promptly, and are readily accessible. Existing grievance

mechanisms may be supplemented as needed with project/programme-specific arrangements.

26. The grievance mechanism shall not impede access to other judicial or administrative remedies that

might be available under the law or through existing arbitration procedures, or substitute for

grievance mechanisms provided through collective agreements. The mechanism shall ensure workers’

rights to be present and to participate directly in the proceedings and to be represented by a trade

union or person of their choosing.

27. Contractor/Third Party Workers. Conduct due diligence to ascertain that third parties who engage

project/programme workers are legitimate and reliable entities and have in place human resources

management policies and processes and applicable OSH management systems that allow them to

operate in accordance with the benchmark standards herein.108

28. Establish procedures for managing and monitoring the performance of such third parties in relation

to the benchmark standards provided in this thematic area, including incorporation of the benchmark

standards into contractual agreements with such third parties, together with appropriate

108 Due diligence should include an examination of the past and current labour practices pf the contractor/third party.

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noncompliance remedies. In the case of subcontracting, require such third parties to include

equivalent requirements and remedies in their contractual agreements with subcontractors.

29. Contractor workers shall have access to a grievance mechanism. Where the third party employing or

engaging the workers is not able to provide an easily accessible grievance mechanism, the grievance

mechanism provided to direct project/programme workers shall be made available.

30. Primary Supplier Workers. Identify potential risks of violations of supplier workers’ fundamental

rights109 and safety and health issues which may arise in relation to primary suppliers (at a minimum),

requiring the primary supplier to identify those risks. Establish roles and responsibilities for

monitoring primary suppliers. If child labour or forced labour cases or breaches of other fundamental

rights are identified, require the primary supplier to take appropriate steps to remedy them.

31. Additionally, where primary supplier workers are exposed to hazards that present a risk of serious

injury, ill health or death, require the relevant primary supplier to introduce procedures and

mitigation measures to address such safety and health issues. Such procedures and mitigation

measures shall be reviewed periodically to ascertain their effectiveness.

32. The ability to address the risks identified in paragraphs 30 and 31 shall depend upon the responsible

party’s level of control or influence over its primary suppliers. Where prevention and remedy are not

possible, shift the project/programme’s primary suppliers to suppliers that can demonstrate that they

are meeting the relevant benchmark standards herein. Where there is imminent danger of serious

injury, ill health or death to workers, the responsible party shall exercise its control or influence to

stop the operation concerned until such time as the primary supplier can demonstrate that it can

control the hazard in a manner consistent with the benchmark standards herein.

109 Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; the abolition of child and forced labour and non-discrimination and equal opportunity.

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Thematic Area 8: Pollution Prevention and Resource Efficiency

Introduction

1. Increased industrial activity, urbanization, and intensive agricultural development often generate

increased levels of pollution110 to air, water, and land, and consume finite resources in a manner that

may threaten people and the environment at the local, regional, and global level. Pollution prevention

and resource efficiency are core elements of a sustainable development agenda and the programming

of UN entities needs to meet good international practice in this regard.

Objectives

2. The objectives of the benchmark standards described below are to:

▪ Avoid and minimize adverse impacts on human health and the environment from pollution;

▪ Promote more sustainable and efficient use of resources, including energy, land and water;

▪ Avoid or minimize programming-related emissions of short and long-lived climate pollutants111

and ozone-depleting substances;112

▪ Avoid or minimize generation of hazardous and non-hazardous substances and wastes, and

promote a human rights-based approach to the management and disposal of hazardous

substances and wastes;113 and

▪ Promote safe, effective, environmentally sound pest management.

Benchmark Standards

The Model Approach calls on the UN entity to ensure implementation of the following measures:

3. Pollution prevention. Avoid, and if not possible, minimize and control the intensity and flow of

pollutants from routine, non-routine, and accidental releases. Establish preventive measures

wherever possible and ensure that application of pollution prevention and control technologies are

consistent with good international practice throughout the programming life-cycle. Use performance

levels and measures specified in national law or in good international practice, whichever is more

stringent.114 If less stringent measures are appropriate, fully justify the chosen alternative through the

110 For the purposes of this thematic area, the term “pollution” refers to both hazardous and nonhazardous pollutants in the solid, liquid, or gaseous phases, and includes other components such as pests, pathogens, thermal discharge to water, GHG emissions, ozone-depleting substances, nutrient pollution, nuisance odors, noise, vibration, radiation, electromagnetic energy, and the creation of potential visual impacts including light.

111 This includes GHGs (see the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction thematic area) and black carbon.

112 According to the Scientific Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol, an ODS is a substance that leads to stratospheric ozone depletion. Under the Montreal Protocol, most of the widely used ODSs are controlled. These include, among others, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3), halons, methyl bromide (CH3Br) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

113 In this regard, due consideration should be given to the Guidelines for good practices in relation to the human rights obligations related to the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (2017), prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes.

114 For good international practice, see the performance measures in the World Bank Group Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines. Also see the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.

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assessment process, demonstrating that the alternative is consistent with these requirements. In

addressing potential adverse impacts, consider ambient conditions and assimilative capacity of the

environment, land use, proximity to ecologically sensitive areas, and the potential for cumulative

impacts. If the programming activities will generate significant emissions in already

degraded/polluted areas, adopt measures that avoid and minimize potential negative effects,

including potential alternative locations. Control runoff of contaminated water from programming

sites and ensure polluted wastewater is treated.

4. Wastes. Avoid, and if not possible, minimize generation of waste, and reuse, recycle, and recover

wastes in a safe manner. Develop waste management plans where waste generation and handling

may be significant. Waste materials – including plastics – must be treated and disposed of in an

environmentally sound manner with control of emissions and residues. Utilize reputable contractors

and ascertain if licensed disposal sites are being operated to acceptable standards; where this is not

the case minimize waste sent to such sites and consider alternative disposal options. Obtain chain of

custody documentation for third party disposal and ensure adherence to laws governing

transboundary movement of wastes.

5. Hazardous materials. Avoid, and if not possible, minimize and control the use, release and community

exposure to hazardous materials. Utilize less hazardous substitutes wherever possible, and where use

of hazardous materials cannot be avoided, develop hazardous materials management and safety

measures/plans per good international practice,115 and ensure that emergency response plans are in

place.116 As part of the environmental and social risk assessment, consider potential impacts on

human rights of potentially affected groups as well as differentiated effects and risks on men, women,

children and older persons to potential exposure to hazardous materials. Consider the special

vulnerabilities faced by workers as well as low-income communities, indigenous peoples and

minorities. Do not support the manufacture, trade, or use of chemicals or hazardous substances

subject to international bans, restrictions or phase-outs unless for acceptable purposes as defined by

the conventions or protocols (e.g. Montreal Protocol, Minamata Convention, Basel Convention,

Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention).

6. Resource efficiency. Implement technically and financially feasible measures for improving efficient

consumption of energy, water, raw materials and other resources. Apply good international practices

to improve resource efficiency, including principles of cleaner production, green design, sustainable

infrastructure and sustainable procurement where feasible.

7. Water use and conservation. Where programming activities involve high demand for water

resources, apply measures to reduce water use and ensure that such usage does not have significant

adverse impacts on communities, other users, or on the environment and ecosystems. Assess

cumulative impacts of water use and implement appropriate mitigation measures such as water

demand management, efficiency measures, benchmarking usage, alternative supplies, resource

contamination avoidance, mitigation of impacts on downstream users, and water use offsets. Apply

115 These include the principles of inherently safer design, life-cycle approach, and global approach. See Guidelines for good practices in relation to the human rights obligations related to the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (2017), paras. 45-55. See also the Strategic Approach to international Chemicals Management (SAICM) which sets out a policy framework for the sound management of chemicals.

116 See the Community Health, Safety and Security Thematic Area for more specifics on developing emergency response plans.

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good international practice for water conservation and efficiency, including for irrigation activities and

wastewater usage.117

8. Pesticide use and management. Seek to avoid use of pesticides in supported activities. Utilize

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Vector Management (IVM) approaches. If after

having considered such approaches recourse to pesticide use is deemed necessary, adopt safe,

effective and environmentally sound pest management in accordance with the WHO/FAO

International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management118 for the safe labelling, packaging, handling,

storage, application and disposal of pesticides. Carefully consider hazards and select least toxic

pesticides that are known to be effective, have minimal effects on non-target species and the

environment, and minimize risks associated with development of resistance in pests and vectors.

Develop a Pest Management Plan where use of a significant volume of pesticides is foreseen that

demonstrates how IPM will be promoted to reduce reliance on pesticides and describes measures to

minimize risks of pesticide use. Do not supply or use pesticides that contain active ingredients that

are banned or restricted under applicable international treaties and agreements, or meet the criteria

of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or reproductive toxicity as set forth by relevant international

agencies.119 Users of any pesticides shall be trained to handle pesticides in a proper and responsible

manner and utilize appropriate application equipment and adequate personal protective equipment.

9. Participation, access to information and accountability. Ensure that the benchmark standards of the

Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability thematic area are followed. Effectively and timely

communicate all relevant information and facilitate the meaningful participation of potentially

affected communities in relation to the design and implementation of pollution prevention and

resource efficiency, as per good international practice.120 Ensure an effective remedy for any adverse

impacts on the people and the environment, which may include the remediation of contaminated

sites, compensation, the cessation of action or inaction that gives rise to impacts, the provision of

health care and the dissemination of information to prevent recurrence.121

117 See for example the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

118 FAO/WHO, The International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management (2014).

119 Including those that meet the criteria for Highly Hazardous Pesticides identified by WHO and FAO: (1) pesticide formulations

that meet the criteria of classes Ia or Ib of the WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard; (2) pesticide active

ingredients and their formulations that meet the criteria of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and reproductive toxicity Categories

1A and 1B of the Globally Harmonized System on Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS); (3) pesticide active ingredients listed by the Stockholm Convention in its Annexes A and B, and those meeting all the criteria in paragraph 1 of annex D of the Convention; (4) pesticide active ingredients and formulations listed by the Rotterdam Convention in its Annex III; (5) pesticides listed under the Montreal Protocol; and (6) pesticide active ingredients and formulations that have shown a high incidence of severe or irreversible adverse effects on human health or the environment.

120 These include the principles and standards set forth in the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (1998) and its Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, and the Escazú Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (2018).

121 See Guidelines for good practices in relation to the human rights obligations related to the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (2017), para. 99.

Annex. Model Approach Self-Assessment Tool

The following tables are provided to facilitate the review of UN-entity

environmental and social programming policies and procedures with those of the

Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards for UN Programming.

The tables present the key objectives and benchmark standards from the various

sections of the Model Approach. The tables breakdown each area of the Model

Approach (Guiding Principles, Operationalizing standards, and Thematic Areas) into

specific objectives and standards.

The tables do not constitute the full treatment of all areas of the Model Approach.

The full text provides context for each area, definitions, and further elaboration of

the benchmark standards. The UN entity conducting the review would need to

review the actual wording of the relevant benchmark standards in order fully assess

alignment with the Model Approach.

The Model Approach does not represent a fixed architecture for the design of an

environmental and social safeguards framework. UN entities aligning with the

Model Approach would identify the most appropriate organizational design for

addressing safeguard requirements given their specific mandates. Consolidation of

certain thematic areas and standards of the Model Approach may be necessary

and/or additional ones may need to be incorporated. No matter the most

appropriate design, the tables below provide the key objectives and benchmark

standards that should be addressed in order to align with the Model Approach.

The tables will enable UN entities conducting a review of their environmental and

social programming policies and procedures to more readily isolate areas of

alignment and areas of potential gaps with the Model Approach.

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Note: The numbering presented below represents the relevant section and the start of the relevant paragraph numbering of the full text of the

Model Approach that addresses the identified subject area (not all paragraph numbers are listed). The numbering is provided in order to

facilitate cross-checking and review of any further elaboration of the objective and/or benchmark standard contained in the full text of the

Model Approach.

In addition, the far right column provides space for entering checkmarks whether the UN entity’s environmental and social policies and

procedures address the relevant objective or benchmark standard.

I. Guiding Principles

Checkmark

✓

I.2 Leave No One Behind

Uphold human rights principle of equality and non-discrimination

Provide marginalized/disadvantaged groups equal access to benefits/resources

Promote active participation of marginalized/disadvantaged groups, with differentiated measures to strengthen their voice and participation

Minimize and mitigate potential adverse impacts on marginalized/disadvantaged groups, considering potential disproportional effects on them

Promote protection of most marginalized and vulnerable groups facing crisis, conflict situations, climate change impacts and natural disasters

I.4 Human Rights-Based Approach and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Human Rights-Based Approach

Base programming on human rights standards with aim to develop capacities of right-holders to claim rights and duty-bearers to fulfil obligations

Uphold human rights principles of accountability and rule of law, participation and inclusion, and equality and non-discrimination, noting that prohibited grounds of discrimination include race, colour, ethnicity, sex, age, language, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, political or other opinion, national or social or geographic origin, property, birth or other status including as an indigenous person or as a member of a minority

Support Governments and other State actors to adhere to their obligations and duties to respect, to protect, and to fulfill human rights

Refrain from supporting activities that may contribute to violations of a State’s human rights obligations

Undertake environmental and social due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate any actual or potential adverse human rights impacts

Ensure all stakeholders have opportunities for meaningful participation in the formulation and implementation of projects and programmes

Ensure programming is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities, with reasonable accommodations provided

Uphold human rights and the application of UN humanitarian principles in emergency/crisis response and humanitarian action

I.7 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Promote gender equality, equal opportunities, and fair treatment of women and men

Ensure activities do not discriminate against women and girls, reinforce gender-based inequalities and exclusion, or have disproportionate adverse gender-related impacts

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Conduct gender analysis to promote the design and implementation of gender responsive and gender transformative programming that addresses different needs and constraints of women, men, girls, and boys, taking into account the effects of multiple forms of discrimination

Promote equal access to and control over productive resources and programming benefits

Conduct gender-sensitive stakeholder analysis and strengthen women’s participation in decision-making

Empower and prioritize the needs of marginalized and vulnerable women, men, girls and boys

Track progress on gender results, including use of sex-disaggregated data and gender sensitive indicators

Adopt measures that seek to prevent and appropriately respond to incidences of sexual harassment, gender-based violence and/or sexual exploitation and abuse of women, men, girls and boys, including appropriate training to personnel, provision of effective reporting and response protocols, referrals for safe and confidential victim assistance, and prompt investigation of allegations of such incidences

I.8 Sustainability and Resilience

Integrate social, environmental and economic sustainability considerations into programming

Conduct sound environmental and social risk assessment and apply environmental and social safeguards per the mitigation hierarchy

Assess underlying risk drivers to avoid unforeseen long-term adverse impact to people and the environment

Apply a precautionary approach to addressing significant environmental and social challenges

Address vulnerability of people, in particular those of marginalized/disadvantaged groups, to potential climate change impacts and disaster risks

Identify and address interconnections among issues related to the environment, human rights, conflict, crises and vulnerability, where relevant

I.9 Accountability Promote compliance with legal norms and standards, including national laws, regulations and obligations under international human rights law, international labour standards and environmental treaties and agreements, respecting the higher standard

Promote active local community engagement and participation in programming decision-making and implementation

Promote transparency of programming interventions through provision of timely, accessible and functional information

Promote stakeholder access to effective complaints redress processes/mechanisms without inhibiting access to judicial and administrative remedies

Monitor – where appropriate with stakeholders – and report on implementation of environmental and social risk management measures

II. Operationalizing the Model Approach A. Screening, Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks

A.3 Objectives Strengthen the environmental and social soundness and sustainability of programming

Anticipate, avoid, and where avoidance is not possible, minimize and mitigate adverse impacts to people and the environment

Ensure that potential adverse impacts do not fall disproportionately on marginalized or disadvantaged groups and individuals

A.4 Screening and categorization

Screen programming activities with a distinct planning phase as early as possible to identify potential environmental and social risks and impacts and to determine nature and level of environmental and social review, assessment and, provisionally, necessary management measures

Consider all environmental/social risks, including direct, indirect, cumulative, transboundary risks/impacts, including associated facilities

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Assign environmental social risk category based on significance of potential environmental and social risks and impacts. Typical categories include: o Low Risk: minimal or no adverse environmental and social risks and impacts o Moderate Risk: environmental/social risks and impacts limited in scale, not unprecedented, largely irreversible, limited to programming area o High Risk: significant adverse environmental/social impacts that are irreversible, cumulative or unprecedented and/or which raise significant

concerns among potentially affected communities and individuals

A.9 Assessment and Management

Undertake assessment as early as possible and in no case shall programming activities that may cause adverse impacts proceed until completion of the assessment and adoption of necessary management measures

Assessment and development of management measures for programming with a distinct planning phase shall address the following general criteria:

o Scope and depth of assessment is commensurate and proportionate to nature and magnitude of potential risks/impacts

o Consider impacts on physical, biological, socioeconomic and cultural resources, including direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts in programming area of influence, including associated facilities

o Assess transboundary and global impacts, including climate pollutants and other emissions

o Consider all technically and financially feasible alternatives to reduce potential risks/impacts, including “no action” option

o Ensure assessment is based on recent social and environmental baseline data at an appropriate level of detail, recognizing that variability over time (e.g. seasonal variations, movement of people) may require additional baseline data

o Assess adequacy of applicable and institutional framework and ensure compliance with national laws, regulations and obligations under international human rights law, international labour standards, environmental treaties/agreements, respecting the higher standard

o Apply a precautionary approach to addressing significant environmental and social challenges

o Apply the mitigation hierarchy

o Utilize adaptive management techniques

o Apply voluntary codes and standards (e.g. certifications) where possible and relevant

o Follow the ‘polluter pays’ principle, where relevant

o Involve early and meaningful stakeholder engagement throughout cycle, predicated on timely disclosure of all relevant information in accessible form and ensuring stakeholders’ views are taken into account

o Ensure allocation of sufficient budgetary and other resources for undertaking assessments and developing management measures commensurate with the nature and magnitude of the potential risks and impacts

If adverse impacts to marginalized and disadvantaged groups, undertake differentiated measures so that impacts do not fall disproportionately on them and they are not disadvantaged in accessing benefits/resources

If adverse impacts on persons with disabilities, adopt differentiated measures to ensure nondiscrimination and equality, access, and opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate in and benefit from supported activities on an equal basis with others

Identify potential environmental and social risks and impacts associated with programming contractors and primary suppliers and undertake appropriate due diligence regarding reputation and performance. Include covenants to comply the relevant benchmark standards

For emergency response/humanitarian action, adjust timelines/sequencing of assessment and management measures to prioritize rapid response activities. Integrate Model Approach benchmarks into crisis response training, preparedness and prevention protocols and operating procedures, and integrate benchmark standards, incl. assessment and management, as crisis transitions to early recovery and development

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Ensure appropriate social/environmental management measures/plans developed, commensurate with nature and magnitude of identified potential risks and impacts, including o Moderate Risk: targeted assessment, application of good international practice and appropriate mitigation measures o High Risk: comprehensive assessment (e.g. ESIA, SESA, sectoral or regional EA, cumulative impact assessment) and comprehensive ESMP

Develop an ESMF where activities have not been fully identified at time of approval

For High Risk programming, utilize qualified independent expertise to prepare and/or verify the assessment, and for highly risky, complex, or contentious activities, utilize an independent advisory panel

Undertake additional assessment if material changes or changes in context likely to present additional environmental and social risks/impacts

A.22 Monitoring and reporting

Monitor environmental and social risks with due regard to agreed environmental and social management measures and plans

Ensure adequate institutional arrangements, systems, resources and personnel to carry out monitoring, including

Engage stakeholders and third parties to complement or verify monitoring activities, where appropriate

Undertake any needed corrective actions identified in monitoring

Promptly notify stakeholders regarding incidences or accidents that may have significant adverse impacts, and immediately address such incidents

Provide periodic reports to stakeholders on implementation of environmental/social management measures and issues/concerns

B. Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability

B.2 Objectives Promote meaningful and effective participation of affected parties and other stakeholders throughout the programming life-cycle

Ensure stakeholders have timely access to appropriate, understandable information on activities and potential environmental/social risks/ impacts

Ensure affected parties have access to effective remedy through fair, transparent, and inclusive grievance redress processes and mechanisms

B.3 Stakeholder Engagement

Undertake stakeholder identification and analysis of different stakeholder groups

Identify affected parties who belong to marginalized and disadvantaged groups and stakeholders who may require different or separate forms of engagement, including women, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, minorities

Develop and implement a Stakeholder Engagement Plan proportionate to scale of activities and potential environmental and social risks and impacts

Disclose a draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan early and seek stakeholder views on the plan

Engage stakeholders as early as possible, enabling stakeholders’ views to be taken into account including but not limited to programming goals and strategies; environmental/social risks/impacts; proposed mitigation measures; sharing of benefits and opportunities; and implementation issues

Engage in meaningful effective consultations in a culturally appropriate manner

Meaningful effective consultations will be free of external manipulation, coercion, discrimination and intimidation; be gender- and -age inclusive and respond to the needs and interests of marginalized and disadvantaged groups, with engagement processes tailored to the language and accessibility preferences of each group, including persons with disabilities; be based on prior and timely disclosure of relevant, accessible understandable information; be free of charge; and provide appropriate time frames for stakeholders to consider and provide comments

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Maintain records of stakeholder consultations

Continue stakeholder engagement throughout the life-cycle of the programming activities

B.5 Access to Information

Ensure stakeholders have timely access to relevant, appropriate, understandable information on activities, risks and impacts

Provide information to stakeholders on key aspects of programming activities as early as possible and free of charge

Provide access to draft and approved documentation, assessments, management plans, engagement plans, grievance mechanisms, reporting

Provide relevant information in understandable forms and relevant local languages in an accessible and culturally appropriate manner

Ensure information disclosed in an accessible, understandable manner in a timeframe that allows for meaningful effective consultation

B.6 Programming-level Grievance Redress Mechanisms

Ensure access to fair, transparent, and inclusive grievance redress processes and mechanisms free of charge

Design such mechanisms in manner proportionate to nature of the activities and potential environmental/social risks/impacts

Meet effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

B.8 UN-Entity Independent Accountability Mechanism

Adopt Independent Accountability Mechanism (IAM) that establishes systems or measures at the entity level as a supplemental means of redress and review for alleged or potential violations of entity environmental and social safeguards

IAM to be independent from direct programming management and be impartial, transparent, accessible, responsive, and free of charge

Problem-solving and compliance review systems provide for receipt of and timely response to complaints, work proactively with complainants to resolve concerns, maintain records on all cases with due consideration for confidentiality, and seek to minimize risks of retaliation to complainants

B.9 Reprisals Adopt internal policies, guidance or practices to identify, address and reduce the risk of retaliation against people who may seek information on and participation in programme activities, express concerns and/or access programming-level grievance redress processes and IAMs

Thematic Area 1: Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

1.3 Objectives Conserve biodiversity

Maintain and enhance the benefits of ecosystem services

Promote sustainable management and use of living natural resources

Ensure the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the utilization of genetic resources

Respect, preserve, maintain, encourage knowledge, innovations, practices of indigenous/local communities for conservation/sustainable use

1.4 Risk Identification Identify direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services

Consider risks related to habitat and species loss, degradation and fragmentation, overexploitation, invasive alien species, hydrological changes, nutrient loading, pollution, incidental take, potential climate change impacts, and differing values attached to potentially affected biodiversity and ecosystem services by potentially affected communities and other stakeholders

Consider potential impacts across potential landscapes and seascapes

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Utilize qualified expertise in assessing impacts to biodiversity and ecosystems, developing mitigation/monitoring measures, verifying implem.

Involve and consult relevant stakeholders in identification and assessment of potential impacts on biodiversity and relevant ecosystem services

1.5 Ecosystem approach, mitigation hierarchy, precautionary approach

Where relevant, pursue an ecosystem approach for the integrated and adaptive management of terrestrial, freshwater, marine and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way

Apply the mitigation hierarchy to anticipate and, as a matter of priority, avoid adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems

Use a precautionary approach when addressing potential adverse impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems and communities

1.6 Siting preference Prioritize siting activities with potential adverse impacts far from critical habitats, protected areas, areas of ecological significance, giving preference to locating activities on lands already converted/degraded (e.g. modified habitat) and/or in areas of low biodiversity value

Avoid siting projects on lands converted in anticipation of the project

1.7 Habitats Avoid activities leading to adverse impacts on critical habitats (no measurable adverse impacts on biodiversity values or ecological processes)

If potential adverse impacts on natural habitats, seek to avoid any significant conversion or degradation and proceed only if no viable alternatives exist and appropriate conservation and mitigation measures or plans are in place

Appropriate mitigation and management measures shall aim to achieve net gains of biodiversity for critical habitats and, wherever possible, for natural habitats, ensuring at a minimum no net loss of biodiversity for such areas

Minimize unwarranted conversion/degradation of modified habitat

1.8 Water resources Seek to avoid adverse impacts on water resources and water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

Promote sustainable use of water resources through integrated water resources management

Ensure activities do not adversely affect access to and/or quality of water supplies

1.9 Soil management Avoid, minimize adverse impacts on soils, their biodiversity, organic content, productivity, structure, water-retention capacity

1.10 Protected areas Avoid significant adverse impacts to legally protected areas, areas designated for legal protection, areas recognized for high biodiversity value, incl. nationally and internationally designated protected areas, indigenous protected areas (IPAs) or indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs)

Ensure activities are consistent with area’s legal protection and management objectives/plans

Consult and involve protected area stakeholders in design, implementation, M&E of activities

1.11 Endangered and protected species

Activities do not lead to reduction in populations of any recognized Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, or restricted range species

Ensure activities do not increase the risk of illegal trade of protected species

1.12 Management of ecosystem services

Avoid adverse impacts on ecosystem services of relevance to affected communities. If avoidance not possible, mitigation and management measures aim to maintain the value and functionality of affected ecosystem services

Involve and consult with affected communities on activities that may affect their ecosystem services

1.13 Biodiversity offsets Biodiversity offsets considered only as a last resort after avoidance, minimization, restoration measures applied

Design offsets to achieve measurable conservation outcomes and no net loss of biodiversity, preferably a net gain (required if affect critical habitats)

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Involve qualified experts and relevant stakeholder in design of such offsets, which adhere to the “like-for-like or better” principle

1.14 Alien and invasive alien species (IAS)

Avoid introduction or utilization of IAS, whether accidental or intentional, and support activities to mitigate and control their further spread

Avoid intentional introduction of new alien species unless carried out per existing regulatory framework and subject to risk assessment

1.15 Biosafety and genetic resources

Adhere to CBD and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in handling, transport, use of living modified organisms that result from modern biotechnology which may have adverse impacts on biodiversity and human health

1.16 Customary sustainable use of biological diversity

Protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional knowledge, innovations and cultural practices that are compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements

Ensure full, effective participation of relevant indigenous peoples/local communities where such knowledge/practices affected, supported or utilized

1.17 Use of genetic resources

Ensure collection of genetic resources is conducted sustainably

Ensure benefits derived from utilization of genetic resources shared in a fair and equitable manner, consistent with applicable access and benefit sharing (ABS) measures in accordance with the CBD (Article 15) and its Nagoya Protocol

1.18 Sustainable management of living natural resources (forests, agriculture, fisheries, livestock)

Ensure sustainable management of living natural resources in accordance with Art. 10 of CBD

Adopt appropriate measures, where relevant, to promote animal welfare, control for potential invasiveness or escape of production species, and minimization of antimicrobial resistance

Support small-scale landholders to harvest/produce living natural resources sustainably

1.19 Primary suppliers When purchasing natural resource commodities, where possible, limit procurement to primary suppliers that demonstrate they are not contributing to significant conversion/degradation of natural/critical habitats, and if necessary within a reasonable period, shift to primary suppliers that can demonstrate that they are not significantly adversely impacting these areas

Encourage application of ecolabels and Environmental Product Descriptions (EPDs) where available

Thematic Area 2: Climate Change and Disaster Risks

2.6 Objectives Strengthen resilience of communities to address risks of climate change impacts and disasters

Integrate climate change adaptation considerations and do not exacerbate vulnerability of communities to climate change impacts or disaster risks

Minimize programming-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and intensity and maintain carbon sinks

2.7 Climate change and disaster risk analysis, planning, implementation, M&E

Integrate relevant and up-to-date climate and disaster risk information during the design and implementation of interventions

Identify potential exposure of relevant communities, ecosystems, and critical infrastructure to climate change impacts and hazards, both natural and human-made, including to natural hazard-triggered technological (or “Natech”) accidents

Analyse physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility and vulnerability of relevant communities to potential climate change impacts and hazards – with a particular focus on marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals

Examine viability of intended outcomes and sensitivity of programming components given potential climate change impacts and disaster risks

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Assess whether activities may increase exposure or exacerbate vulnerability to climate change impacts or disasters (e.g. maladaptation) and avoid activities that may exacerbate such risks

Integrate where relevant climate change adaptation considerations in planning (“climate proofing”) and seek to identify opportunities for strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerabilities, including where possible through ecosystem-based approaches

Seek synergies with existing/planned activities for generating climate change mitigation co-benefits (e.g. reducing GHG emissions) where possible

Incorporate stakeholder perspectives, including most vulnerable to climate change impacts/disaster risks, into risk analysis, planning, implementation., M&E

Ensure that appropriate climate and disaster risk management plans in place, including but not limited to emergency and response plans and ensure appropriate monitoring and, where necessary, adoption of corrective measures

Where relevant, integrate disaster risk reduction measures into the restoration of physical infrastructure and societal systems to “build back better” after a disaster to increase the resiliency of communities

2.9 GHG emissions and carbon sinks

Minimize and avoid unwarranted increases in GHGs or other drivers of climate change from activities, including through the following measures:

o Consider alternatives and implement technically/financially feasible options to minimize GHG emissions and other drivers of climate change. Options include alternative locations; renewable and low-carbon energy sources; energy efficiency; low-global-warming-potential coolants for air-conditioning/refrigeration; “climate-smart” agriculture and livestock management, ecosystem-based adaptation/mitigation

o Where GHG emissions may be significant, characterize and estimate potential sources of GHG emissions related to programming activities to form a baseline for reducing such emissions, providing such estimation is technically and financially feasible

o Protect, conserve and, where appropriate, incorporate carbon sinks in programming activities

Thematic Area 3: Community Health, Safety and Security

3.3 Objectives Anticipate/avoid adverse impacts on health and safety of affected communities during programming life cycle (routine/non-routine circumstances)

Ensure quality and safety in design and construction of infrastructure, preventing and minimizing potential safety risks and accidents

Avoid or minimize community exposure to disaster risks, diseases and hazardous materials associated with programming activities

Ensure safeguarding of personnel/property minimizes risks to communities and is carried out per international human rights standards and principles

Have in place effective measures to address emergency events, whether human-made or natural hazards

3.4 General health and safety risk management

Identify direct and indirect health and safety risks and impacts associated with programming activities throughout programming cycle

Undertake appropriate health and safety assessments/management measures, based on good international practice, tailored to specific activities

Favour prevention or avoidance of health and safety risks and impacts over minimization and reduction

Utilize appropriate health and safety expertise for risk assessments and design of management measures

Ensure management measures commensurate with nature/magnitude of identified risks/ impacts, accounting for differences in risk exposure and sensitivity of women/men, marginalized/disadvantaged groups, incl. children, older persons, persons with disabilities, minorities, indigenous people

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Consider risks of accidents and hazards, ensuring to avoid exacerbating potential adverse impacts of natural and human-made hazards

Ensure that programming-related accidents or incidents are appropriately recorded, reported and addressed

Ensure that emergency preparedness and response plans are in place

3.5 Community exposure to health issues

Avoid/ minimize community exposure to health risks (e.g. pollution, contaminated areas/resources) and diseases from or exacerbated by activities, incl. water-related/vector-borne diseases, communicable/non-communicable diseases, injuries, nutritional disorders, mental health and well-being

Consider potential differentiated exposure and higher sensitivity of health impacts on marginalized groups and those living in voluntary isolation

Avoid or minimize transmission of communicable diseases associated with the influx of labour to programming areas

Where endemic diseases exist in programming area (e.g. malaria), explore ways to improve conditions to minimize incidence of such diseases

Where programming involves the provision of health services, incorporate antimicrobial stewardship

3.6 Infrastructure design and safety

Design, construct, operate, and decommission structural elements supported or affected by programming in accordance with national legal requirements, good international practice, and any relevant international obligations and standards

Evaluate potential safety risks to third parties and communities

Structural elements of any infrastructure that poses significant health/safety risks shall be (i) designed and constructed by qualified engineers and professionals, (ii) certified and approved by independent professionals not involved in design process, (iii) include appropriate plans for construction supervision, quality assurance, operation, maintenance, emergency preparedness, and (iv) require periodic safety inspections and monitoring

Structural elements shall take into account climate change and disaster risk considerations as appropriate

Consider geological and geophysical hazards and undertake appropriate risk assessments where needed. If structural elements must be situated in a high-risk location (e.g. seismic activity, risk of extreme weather or slow onset events), engage independent experts with relevant experience to review the programming activities as early as possible and throughout programming stages

3.7 Universal access Ensure concept of universal access is applied wherever feasible in design and construction of facilities and services open to or provided to the public

3.8 Construction safety Ensure appropriate control of site access (e.g. fencing, security), use of appropriate personal protective equipment, safely designed work platforms, appropriate engineering and administrative controls (e.g. detours, traffic calming, signs), and safety barriers

Where public access is intended, consider incremental risks of public’s potential exposure to operational accidents or natural hazard

Where relevant, identify, evaluate, and monitor potential traffic and road safety risks associated with programming

3.9 Hazardous materials management and safety

Avoid or minimize potential community exposure to hazardous materials and substances

Where potential exposure exists to health-and life-threatening hazards, including to workers and their families, exercise special care to avoid such exposure by modifying, substituting, and eliminating the condition or material causing potential hazard

Consider risks of exposure to hazardous material from natural hazard-triggered accidents

If hazardous materials are part of existing programming-related infrastructure, exercise due care during construction, implementation and decommissioning in order to avoid exposure

Exercise appropriate due diligence to control the safety of deliveries and transportation and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes

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3.10 Emergency preparedness and response

Identify and implement measures to address emergency events

Ensure emergency preparations and response plans are in place, resourced, reviewed, and publicized

Emergency preparations shall include identification of areas where emergencies may occur, communities that may be impacted, response procedures, provision of equipment and resources, designation of responsibilities, communications and notification channels, and periodic training

Ensure emergency planning is gender sensitive and participatory and consider differential impacts of emergency situations on men, women, older persons, children, persons with disabilities, and marginalized or disadvantaged groups

Disclose appropriate information on emergency response planning and review on a regular basis

3.11 Risks associated with influx of project/programme workers

Ensure appropriate measures are taken to avoid, mitigate and manage the risks and potential adverse impacts on health and safety arising from the influx of workers into programming areas

Such risks/impacts may be associated with changes in population composition, health implications and exposure to communicable diseases, threats of sexual violence and harassment, crime, and increased vulnerability of communities due to increased pressure on already scare natural resources

Implement measures that seek to protect community members from such risks, including training, awareness-raising programmes and codes of conduct for project/programme workers

Identify alternative means to remedy significant stress on natural resources caused by increased population numbers

3.12 Impacts on ecosystem services

Avoid/minimize adverse impacts and implement appropriate mitigation measures that aim to maintain the value and functionality of ecosystem services of relevance to local communities

Pay special attention to avoid causing or exacerbating potential adverse impacts on marginalized and disadvantaged groups

Where appropriate and feasible, identify potential risks and impacts on ecosystem services that may be exacerbated by climate change

3.13 Security-related issues and personnel

Ensure potential risks posed by programming-related security arrangements are assessed, personnel are appropriately vetted and trained, and that security arrangements are monitored and reported

Security arrangements shall adhere to applicable law and be provided in a manner that does not violate international human rights standards and principles or jeopardize community safety and security

Undertake reasonable inquiries to verify that potential security personnel have not been implicated in past abuses and review all allegations of unlawful or abusive acts

Take action (or require appropriate parties to take action) to prevent recurrence of any abuses and/or reprisals against individuals and communities

Where necessary, report unlawful and abusive acts to relevant authorities

Thematic Area 4: Cultural Heritage

3.4 Objectives Protect cultural heritage (tangible and intangible) from damage, inappropriate alteration, disruption, removal or misuse and support its preservation and safeguarding and protection

Ensure equitable sharing of benefits generated from integration and utilization of cultural heritage in programming

Promote meaningful consultation with stakeholders regarding preservation, protection, utilization and management of cultural heritage

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3.5 Avoidance of adverse impacts

Consider potential direct, indirect, irreversible and cumulative impacts to cultural heritage

Avoid adverse impacts, and where avoidance is not possible – ensuring that all viable and feasible alternatives have been explored – minimize and mitigate impacts per the mitigation hierarchy (e.g. relocating or modifying the footprint of activities, in situ conservation and rehabilitation)

Ensure activities do not contravene national or international obligations regarding cultural heritage and implement globally recognized practices for field-study, inventorying, documentation, and protection of cultural heritage

Ensure that supported activities take into account and do not contribute to exacerbating disaster risk at cultural heritage site

Undertake Heritage Impact Assessment and adopt a Cultural Heritage Management Plan where significant adverse impacts to cultural heritage

3.6 Chance find procedures

Include chance find procedures in all plans and contracts regarding programming-related construction, including excavations, demolitions, movement of earth, flooding, or other changes in the physical environment

Such procedures establish how chance finds of cultural heritage shall be managed, including notification of relevant authorities and stakeholders, avoidance of further disturbance or damage, protection, documentation and assessment of found objects by relevant experts

3.7 Community participation, stakeholder consultations and use of experts

Engage qualified cultural heritage experts and stakeholders to assist in identification, documentation, protection of affected cultural heritage

Ensure meaningful, effective stakeholder consultations are undertaken, including with local and national regulatory authorities entrusted with the protection of cultural heritage; local, national or international cultural heritage experts and organizations; and affected-parties, including individuals and communities who develop, have developed, use or have used the potentially affected cultural heritage within living memory

Where the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples may be affected by activities, ensure requirements of Indigenous Peoples thematic area followed

3.8 Continued access Avoid restricting access of relevant communities to cultural heritage sites and to the instruments, objects, artefacts, cultural and natural spaces and places of memory necessary for expressing intangible cultural heritage

Where this is not possible, allow continued access based on stakeholder consultations and provide alternative routes if access is blocked, subject to overriding safety and security considerations

3.9 Confidentiality and restricted access by communities

Determine with stakeholders whether disclosure of information regarding cultural heritage would compromise or jeopardize its safety or integrity or endanger sources of information, and withhold sensitive information if this is the case

If communities affected by programming activities hold the location, characteristics or traditional use of cultural heritage in secret, put in place measures to maintain confidentiality

Respect customary practices enacted and conducted by the communities which restrict access to certain specific aspects of intangible cultural heritage or to information about it

3.10 Intangible cultural heritage

Respect the dynamic and living nature of intangible cultural heritage and the right of communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals to continue the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills necessary to ensure the viability of their intangible cultural heritage.

If programming involves/affects intangible cultural heritage, ensure meaningful participation of concerned parties in identifying risks and impacts – incl. its decontextualization, commodification, misrepresentation – and in determining appropriate mitigation and safeguarding measures

Meaningful participation applies to the identification, inventorying, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, transmission, and revitalization of the various aspects of such heritage

3.11 Integration and utilization of cultural heritage

Where activities propose to integrate and utilize cultural heritage, incl. knowledge, innovations, practices of local communities, engage in meaningful consultations and inform affected communities/ stakeholders of their rights and consequences of such integration and utilization

Where programming activities aim at facilitating commercial use by relevant communities of cultural heritage as an option for them to consider, inform the communities of their rights and options available to them.

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Programming activities that envisage supporting specific commercial activities involving cultural heritage should not proceed unless good faith negotiations with relevant affected communities have resulted in a successful documented outcome that provides for fair and equitable benefit sharing from such commercial use and appropriate mitigation and safeguarding measures are put in place per the mitigation hierarchy.

Seek to ensure that any commercial use does not distort the meaning and purpose of the cultural heritage for the community concerned

If propose utilization of cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, ensure the requirements of the Indigenous Peoples thematic area are also followed

3.12 Legally protected cultural heritage areas

Identify/avoid adverse impacts to legally protected cultural heritage areas; comply with defined national or local cultural heritage regulations, protected area management plans and/or conservation master plans; consult area sponsors/managers, local communities, governments, national heritage authorities and other key stakeholders; implement additional programs, as appropriate, to enhance conservation aims of protected areas

Further Provisions for Specific Types of Cultural Heritage

3.13 Archaeological sites and materials

If evidence or high probability of past human activity in programming area, conduct desk-based research and field surveys to document, map, investigate archaeological remains, document location and characteristics of sites and materials discovered during programming life-cycle, provide documentation to cultural heritage authorities, and provide documentation, with advice on due obligations, to relevant authorities undertaking programming activities (e.g. departments of waterworks, agriculture, tourism, transportation and energy)

Determine in consultation with cultural heritage experts whether discovered material requires (a) documentation only, (b) excavation and documentation, or (c) conservation in place, and manage site accordingly

Most archaeological features are best protected by preservation in situ. If not possible, transfer of the cultural heritage to another location shall be conducted in consultation with and agreement of programming-affected people, in accordance with good international practice.

Determine ownership and custodial responsibility for discovered material. Until custody is transferred, ensure identification, conservation, labeling, secure storage and accessibility for study and analysis

3.14 Built heritage Identify appropriate mitigation measures to address potential impacts on built heritage, which may include (a) documentation; (b) conservation or rehabilitation in situ, (c) relocation, reconstruction and conservation or rehabilitation

Most built heritage features are best protected by preservation in situ. If not possible, transfer of the cultural heritage to another location shall be conducted in consultation with and agreement of programming-affected people, in accordance with good international practice

During any rehabilitation, maintain authenticity of form, construction materials and techniques of structures per laws, regulations, good intl practice

Preserve physical and visual context of individual or groups of historic structures by considering appropriateness and effect of supported infrastructure proposed for the location within sight range

3.15 Landscapes and natural features with cultural significance

Identify through research and consultation with affected people the landscape elements and natural features with cultural significance, the people that value such elements/features, and individuals or groups with authority to represent and negotiate regarding their location, protection, and use

Landscapes and natural features derive much of their significance from their location and their holistic environmental context, and often can only be protected by preservation in situ

Preserve physical and visual integrity of landscapes by considering appropriateness and effect of programming activities (e.g. infrastructure) proposed for the location within sight range

In cases where natural features can physically be relocated and cannot be preserved in situ, their transfer to another location shall be conducted with participation and agreement of programming-affected people, in accordance with good international practice

Programming activities and any agreement reached regarding the transfer of natural features shall respect and enable continuation and transmission of the traditional practices associated with the landscape elements and natural features

3.16 Movable Cultural Heritage

Take measures to guard against theft/illegal trafficking of movable cultural heritage (e.g. books, paintings, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, textiles) and artefacts stored and displayed in museums (or equivalent) affected by programming activities, notify relevant authorities if such activity occurs

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Identify items that may be endangered and make provision for their protection throughout the programming life-cycle

Inform religious or secular authorities or other responsible cultural heritage custodians of project/programme activities, the schedule and alert them regarding potential vulnerability of movable cultural heritage items

Thematic Area 5: Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement

5.4 Objectives Avoid, or where not possible, minimize and mitigate adverse impacts from land or resource acquisition or restrictions on land or resource use

Prohibit forced evictions

Enhance and restore livelihoods and living standards of all displaced persons and improve the living conditions and overall socioeconomic status of displaced poor and persons belonging to marginalized or disadvantaged groups

Conceive and execute resettlement activities as sustainable development programs, providing sufficient resources to enable displaced persons to benefit directly from programming activities

Ensure that resettlement activities are planned and implemented collaboratively with the meaningful and informed participation of those affected

5.7 Assisting partner activities

Where requested to support a partner’s strategy or programme that could involve displacement activities, undertake appropriate due diligence (including an analysis of national partner’s regulations regarding involuntary resettlement and those of the UN entity) before engaging in such activities and advise partners to conduct displacement activities in a manner consistent with the below benchmark standards

5.9 Forced Evictions Prohibit forced evictions in all supported activities

Any evictions that may be associated with programming activities shall not be forced evictions and shall be carried out lawfully, only in exceptional circumstances for the purpose of promoting the general welfare with full justification, are reasonable and proportional, follow due process standards, ensure full and fair compensation and rehabilitation, and are carried out in full accordance with relevant provisions of international human rights and humanitarian law

5.11 Avoid and minimize displacement

Consider all feasible programming alternatives and measures to avoid displacement

Where comprehensive options assessment, including the “no action” scenario, indicates displacement is unavoidable, minimize its potential scale and demonstrate that any programming-related land acquisition and/or restrictions on land use are limited to direct programming requirements

5.12 Planning and assessment

Where displacement cannot be avoided, utilize experienced professionals in establishing baseline information, designing displacement activities and assessing potential risks and impacts

Identify potentially affected persons, lands, and assets through census, socio-economic surveys and evaluations, and asset inventories, including claims of affected groups not present as part of census (e.g. seasonal resource users)

Clarify the tenure rights and relationships of potentially affected persons to affected lands and resources, including recognition of customary rights and collective or communal forms of land tenure

Undertake Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) or equivalent to assess potential environmental and social impacts of the proposed land acquisition and/or restrictions on land and/or resource use and potential impacts on host communities where displacement may be significant

Pay particular attention to the needs of affected persons who are marginalized and disadvantaged

Risks posed by natural and human-made hazards should be considered and minimized in the selection of any potential resettlement sites

Where potential displacement may be minimal, an ESIA may not be required and negotiated settlements may be reached that provide fair and just compensation for lost assets in accordance with the requirements herein

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5.14 Participation in planning and implementation

Ensure meaningful participation and collaboration of affected communities, including host communities, throughout the programming cycle, including during consideration of the rationale for proposed activities, alternative programming designs, determination of eligibility and compensation, planning, development of action plans, implementation, monitoring and evaluation

Ensure preferences of affected persons are integrated into programming and that affected persons are informed of their rights and have access to effective remedies, expertise, and legal advice

Ensure women’s perspectives are obtained and their interests are factored into all aspects of planning and implementation

Engage affected marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals, including elderly persons and persons with disabilities, and ensure they are provided equal access to programming benefits and resources

Undertake good-faith efforts to secure negotiated settlements with affected individuals/communities, based on transparent, consistent, equitable compensation standards/procedures to ensure that those who enter into such settlements maintain same or better income and livelihood status

All relevant programming information, including draft action plans, shall be disclosed in a timely manner in an accessible place and in a form and language(s) understandable to affected persons

Compensation standards shall be disclosed and applied consistently and eligibility cut-off dates shall be well publicized

Provide affected persons with written justification in accessible form/language well in advance of start of land acquisition/restrictions on land use

5.17 Develop plans to improve livelihoods

Where displacement cannot be avoided, develop action plans designed to enhance and restore the standards of living and livelihoods of all displaced persons and communities and to improve the living conditions of physically displaced persons and displaced poor persons and marginalized or disadvantaged individuals and groups in real terms compared to pre-displacement levels

Action plans to address displacement impacts will be proportionate to the risks and impacts associated with programming activities. The degree of potential impacts is largely determined by the scope of physical and economic displacement and the vulnerability of affected persons

Where impacts on entire displaced population are minor, abbreviated action plan may be developed that establishes eligibility criteria; compensation procedures and standards at full replacement costs designed at a minimum to restore affected persons assets and livelihoods; and arrangement for participation and collaboration of affected persons. Impacts considered “minor” if affected persons are not physically displaced, are relatively few in number, activities involve minor land acquisition (<10% of productive assets), do not have significant livelihood impacts

Action plans for activities involving physical displacement or economic displacement with significant social and economic impacts on affected persons are to be conceived and executed as sustainable development programs that provide sufficient resources and opportunities to enable displaced persons to benefit directly from programming activities and that seek to improve affected persons livelihoods and living standards. Such plans will at a minimum address the following relevant elements, taking into account the full social and economic costs to displaced persons:

o Establish eligibility criteria, cutoff dates, and entitlements for all categories of affected persons

o Provide (a) fair and just compensation at full replacement cost (based on the cost of replacement at resettled sites and locations where relevant) prior to displacement, for any losses of personal, real or other property or goods, noting that compensation and support may be collective in nature; (b) transitional support (both financial and in-kind) based on reasonable estimates of time required to restore and improve income-earning capacity, production levels, standards of living; and (c) development assistance such as land development, credit facilities, direct benefits, training, employment opportunities, provision of expertise, as appropriate. Combination of compensation, transitional support and development assistance will seek to improve pre-displacement productive capacity and earning potential

o Provide displaced individuals/communities secure access to necessary services, shelter, food, water, energy, and sanitation, as applicable

o Consider gender aspects, recognizing women and men as co-beneficiaries and providing single women with their own compensation

o Ensure impoverished individuals and marginalized/disadvantaged persons/groups provided equal access to benefits and resources

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5.21 Physical displacement Where programming activities involve physical displacement, the action plan shall address the following additional elements:

o Specify the resettlement options chosen by displaced persons, respecting preferences to relocate in pre-existing communities wherever possible, and document all transactions

o Provide a choice of replacement property with secure tenure of higher value and better characteristics wherever possible for affected persons or communities with formal land rights or recognizable claims. Land-based resettlement strategies will be utilized when affected livelihoods are land-based or where land is collectively owned

o Ensure resettlement sites provide adequate housing with improved living conditions, necessary civic infrastructure and services. For housing to be adequate, it must, at a minimum, meet the following criteria: providing security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy

o For affected persons without formal land rights or recognizable claims, compensate for loss of assets other than land (e.g. dwellings, other improvements) at full replacement costs, provide resettlement assistance in lieu of compensation for land sufficient to restore and improve living standards at an adequate alternative site, and provide arrangements to allow them to obtain adequate housing with security of tenure so they can resettle without facing the risk of forced eviction

o Compensation is not required for encroachers after the established cut-off date, provided that the date has been well publicized

5.22 Economic displacement

Where programming activities involve economic displacement with significant social and economic impacts, the action plan shall address the following additional elements:

o Ensure compensation covers all commercial losses (including costs of transfer and re-establishing commercial activity, lost net income during transition, lost employee wages) and for other assets such as crops, irrigation infrastructure, other improvements to affected areas

o Provide replacement property of improved value where legitimate tenure rights (both formal and informal) are restricted. Provide replacement agricultural sites of superior productive potential wherever possible, including through investments in increasing productivity. If it is clearly demonstrated that replacement land and resources are unavailable, offer cash compensation at full replacement cost and options and support for alternative income earning with evidence of mutual agreement

o Compensate economically displaced persons who are without legally recognizable claims to land for lost assets other than land (e.g. crops, irrigation infrastructure, other improvements made to the land), at full replacement cost

o Where displaced livelihoods are natural resource based, offer replacement land and access to alternative resources with a combination of productive potential, locational advantage, and other factors with improved livelihood-earning potential and accessibility, wherever feasible. Provide alternative income earning opportunities and support if it is demonstrably not possible to provide replacement land and resources

o If the programming activities restrict access to resources in legally designated parks or protected areas or other common property resources, establish a collaborative process with affected persons and communities to negotiate and determine appropriate restrictions and mitigation measures to improve affected livelihoods while maintaining the sustainability of the park or protected area

5.23 Prior displacement Where displacement has occurred in anticipation of supported activities and involvement of the UN entity, benchmark standards herein apply

Conduct an audit to identify any gaps of past activities against the benchmark standards herein and the corrective actions that may be required to address the benchmark standards

Where an unoccupied site is provided from which prior residents were displaced but not in anticipation of the supported activities, undertake appropriate due diligence and determine if corrective actions are feasible and could be integrated into programming

5.24 Redress and grievance mechanism

Ensure potentially displaced persons have access to legal advice prior to displacement and access to judicial or administrative remedies

Ensure an effective grievance mechanism is available to address specific concerns of affected persons regarding all phases of the resettlement process, including planning, consultations, compensation, relocation, livelihood restoration or other programming-related issues

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Grievance mechanisms to meet the effectiveness criteria for such mechanisms in the Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability thematic area

5.25 Monitoring and completion analysis

Provide for independent monitoring by qualified experts of implementation of any action plans

Consult with directly-affected persons on implementation of plans and consider collaborative monitoring with affected persons and communities

Prepare periodic monitoring reports and inform affected persons about monitoring results

Develop long-term monitoring plan to assess impacts on living standards of displaced persons

Ensure adequate budget is provided for monitoring activities

Programming activities involving displacement shall not be considered complete until adverse impacts are addressed and plans are implemented

Utilizing experienced independent experts, undertake a completion analysis whether the objectives of the action plans were achieved, taking into account baseline conditions, and where necessary, propose corrective actions

Thematic Area 6: Indigenous Peoples

6.5 Objectives Recognize and foster full respect for indigenous peoples and their human rights, dignity, cultural uniqueness, autonomy, identity, and aspirations

Promote indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and development with culture and identity

Recognize and respect the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories, and resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied, or otherwise used or acquired

Recognize, respect, protect and preserve indigenous peoples’ culture, knowledge, and practices

Promote interventions designed, managed, and implemented by indigenous peoples

Ensure that programming is designed in partnership with indigenous peoples, with their full effective and meaningful consultation and participation, with the objective of obtaining their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)

Support countries to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of indigenous peoples

Avoid adverse impacts on indigenous peoples from activities, and minimize, mitigate and remedy adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible

Ensure indigenous peoples obtain fair and equitable benefits and opportunities from activities in a culturally appropriate and inclusive manner

6.7 Identification of indigenous peoples

Generally speaking, “indigenous peoples” refers to distinct collectives who possess any of the more commonly accepted definitions of indigenous peoples, with self-identification as a distinct peoples as a fundamental criterion, regardless of the local, national and regional terms applied to them

Other key characteristics include voluntary perpetuation of cultural distinctiveness (e.g. languages, laws, customary cultural, social, economic or political institutions); collective attachment to lands, territories, resources traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used/acquired; traditional livelihoods and tangible/intangible cultural heritage associated to lands, territories, resources; priority in time with respect to occupation and use of specific territory; an experience of subjugation, marginalization, dispossession, exclusion or discrimination, whether or not these conditions persist

Indigenous peoples may have a distinct language or dialect, often different from official language(s) of the country or region in which they reside

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Indigenous peoples include those who have lost access to lands, territories, resources due to forced severance, conflict, government resettlement, dispossession, natural disasters, incorporation of lands into urban areas, but still maintain collective attachment to those lands, territories, resources

Indigenous peoples might not be recognized by the country in question or possess recognized title to lands, territories or resources. In some countries, indigenous peoples may be referred to by other terms, such as “ethnic groups or minorities,” “aboriginals,” “hill tribes,” “minority nationalities,” “scheduled tribes,” “first nations,” “tribal groups,” “pastoralists,” “hunter-gatherers,” “nomadic groups” or “forest dwellers,” or other terms. Regardless of which terminology is used, the requirements herein shall apply to groups that satisfy the above characteristics

6.10 Meaningful consultation and participation

Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own priorities and to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect them, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures

Ensure meaningful consultation and participation of indigenous peoples who may be affected by programming activities

Perspective of indigenous peoples concerned should be starting point of assessing whether proposed activities may affect them

Engagement should begin as early as possible in programming conceptualization and continue throughout all aspects of the programming cycle, including design, risk identification and assessment, implementation, monitoring and evaluation

Conduct engagement processes with indigenous peoples in good faith, in a culturally appropriate manner, with due regard to indigenous peoples’ institutions, customs, and traditional methods of decision-making

Design and undertake engagement processes in full partnership with indigenous peoples

Engagement processes should be gender and inter-generationally inclusive, paying particular attention to groups and individuals at risk of marginalization and exclusion

Initiate engagement processes sufficiently in advance of any authorization or commencement of activities, with timely availability of all relevant programming information, including full and understandable information on likely potential impacts, provided in a culturally appropriate manner and in relevant indigenous languages whenever possible

Engagement processes need to consider the time requirements of indigenous peoples’ internal processes for decision-making, and be free from any coercion, intimidation or manipulation

Carry out engagement processes with objective of obtaining indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) regarding activities that may affect the indigenous peoples’ rights, lands, territories, natural resources, traditional livelihoods, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including activities proposing the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, forest, water or other resources

Engagement processes require at a minimum documentation of (i) a mutually accepted process to carry out good faith negotiations, (ii) outcomes of good faith negotiations, including all agreements reached as well as disagreements and dissenting views, and (iii) efforts aimed at accommodating indigenous peoples’ expressed interest and concerns in the final programming design

Reaching agreement or consent helps to ensure full partnership and ownership of supported activities with indigenous peoples who may be impacted by programming activities

Where agreement or consent cannot be ascertained in such circumstances, adjustments of the relevant activities are to be made, including in all likelihood a decision by the UN entity to exclude from programming the activities for which agreement or consent still cannot be ascertained.

6.14 Prior assessment, impact avoidance

Carry out environmental and social analysis for programming that may affect indigenous peoples as part of design process

Verify if indigenous peoples inhabit proposed programming areas and/or if activities may affect indigenous peoples outside of such areas

The perspective of the indigenous peoples concerned is a critical starting point for impact assessment and the indigenous peoples concerned should have ample opportunities as early as possible to participate in the assessment and development of avoidance and mitigation measures

Indigenous and traditional knowledge is a valuable resource for identifying and addressing potential risks, including hazards and disaster risks, and should be incorporated throughout the programme cycle

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Assess all potential direct, indirect, social, cultural, spiritual environmental impacts on indigenous peoples, including potential impacts on their rights, lands, territories, and resources

Review of all substantive rights, property interests, tenurial arrangements, and traditional resource usage may be required

Avoid adverse impacts on indigenous peoples to the maximum extent possible, including exploration of alternative programming strategies, designs and locations or consideration of not proceeding with the activities

Where avoidance of adverse impacts is not possible, minimize, mitigate residual impacts in a culturally appropriate manner per mitigation hierarchy

6.15 Culturally appropriate benefits

Ensure that affected indigenous peoples are able to derive benefits from programming activities in a culturally appropriate and inclusive manner giving full consideration to options preferred by the indigenous peoples concerned

The provision of compensation and benefits is to take into account the institutions, rules, and customs of affected indigenous peoples and may occur on a collective basis with mechanisms for effective distribution of benefits to all members of affected groups, as far as practical

Indigenous peoples affected by programming activities should share equitably in benefits derived from any commercial development of indigenous peoples’ lands, territories or resources or from the use or development of indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage

6.16 Support rights to lands, territories, and resources

Indigenous peoples have collective rights to own, use, develop, and control lands, territories (including waters) and resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied, or otherwise used or acquired

Avoid programming activities that may undermine or inadvertently weaken such rights

Where appropriate and/or necessary, support activities that would result in legal recognition of customary or traditional land tenure and management systems and collective rights of programming-affected indigenous peoples, including through implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT)

6.17 People living in voluntary isolation or initial contact

Where supported activities may directly or indirectly impact indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation or initial contact, take all appropriate measures to avoid undesired contact and to respect and protect their lands and territories, environment, health and culture

Where relevant, assist national authorities to limit access and to regularize lands of groups living in isolation

6.18 Special considerations Pay particular attention to the rights and special needs of indigenous women, youth, children, and persons with disabilities

Seek to ensure that there is no discrimination against such groups and give special consideration to measures to improve their participation in decision-making and their general well-being

6.19 Relocation Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands and territories

Where, as an exceptional measure, relocation cannot be avoided, it shall take place only after seeking free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and in line with national law, international human rights obligations and the requirements herein

6.20 Cultural heritage In addition to the relevant benchmark standards under the Cultural Heritage thematic area, where supported activities may lead to significant adverse impacts to the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, consult and cooperate in good faith with the affected indigenous peoples with the objective of obtaining their free, prior and informed consent before the approval of the relevant activities

If indigenous peoples affected by programming activities hold the location, characteristics or traditional use of cultural heritage in secret, put in place measures to maintain confidentiality

6.21 Plans to address impacts and benefits

Develop a time-bound action plan for activities that may affect indigenous peoples’ rights, lands, territories, resources, traditional livelihoods, cultural heritage (e.g. Indigenous Peoples Plan or Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework if specific activities/locations not yet determined)

Action plan shall identify potential risks/impacts, risk avoidance and mitigation measures, and measures for provision of culturally appropriate benefits, continued consultation and participation, grievance procedures, M&E, and a budget and financial plan for implementing agreed measures

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Where programming activities are designed solely to benefit indigenous peoples, a separate action plan may not be required provided programming documentation addresses the above elements

6.22 Grievance mechanism Ensure an effective, culturally appropriate, accessible grievance redress mechanism is established for the programming activities, with due consideration of customary dispute settlement mechanisms among the indigenous peoples concerned

Development of the grievance mechanism should be part of the full, effective and meaningful consultation and participation processes and should be specified in any negotiated agreements

While it is advisable to address any feedback and concern of affected parties at the local level, the local feedback and complaints mechanism should be supplemented by an entity-level Independent Accountability Mechanism as a recourse for grievances that are not solved locally

6.23 Monitoring Involve knowledgeable experts and ensure indigenous peoples affected by programming activities shall jointly monitor implementation throughout the full duration of the programming cycle

Thematic Area 7: Labour and Working Conditions

7.2 Objectives Promote, respect and realize fundamental principles and rights at work through: o Supporting freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining o Preventing the use of child labour and forced labour o Preventing discrimination and promoting equal opportunity of workers

Protect and promote the safety and health of workers

Ensure projects/programmes comply with national employment and labour laws and international commitments

Leave no one behind by protecting and supporting workers in disadvantaged and vulnerable situations, including a special focus, as appropriate, on women workers, young workers, migrant workers and workers with disabilities

7.4 Terms and conditions of employment

Ensure that applicable written human resources management policies and processes are in place

These policies and processes shall set out the conditions in which project/programme workers will be employed or engaged and managed, in accordance with the standards herein and national law

The policies and processes shall be appropriate to the size, locations and workforce of project/programme activities

Provide information and documentation that is clear and understandable regarding their terms and conditions of employment, incl. information that sets out their rights under national labour, employment and social protection law (incl. any applicable collective agreements), and rights related to hours of work, wages, overtime, compensation and benefits, occupational safety and health and benchmark standards herein

Information and documentation shall be provided at the beginning of the working relationship and when any material changes to the terms or conditions of employment or engagement occur

Project/programme workers shall be paid on a regular basis as required by human resources management policies and national law

Deductions from payment of wages shall only be made as allowed by human resources management policies and national law, and project/programme workers shall be informed of the conditions under which such deductions will be made

Project/programme workers shall be provided with adequate periods of rest per week, annual holiday and sick, maternity and family leave, as required by human resources management policies and national law

Project/programme workers shall receive written notice of termination of employment and details of severance payments in a timely manner as required by national law or human resources management policies

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Terminations shall be carried out in a non-discriminatory manner and, when applicable, after consultation with workers or their trade union

All wages that have been earned, social security benefits, pension contributions and any other entitlements shall be paid, either directly to the project/programme workers or, where appropriate, for the benefit of the project/programme workers. Where payments are made for the benefit of project/programme workers, such workers shall be provided with evidence of such payments

7.8 Non-discrimination and equal opportunity Workers’ organizations

Decisions relating to the employment or treatment of project/programme workers shall not be made on the basis of personal characteristics unrelated to inherent job requirements

Employment shall be based on the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment, and there shall be no discrimination with respect to any aspects of the employment relationship, such as recruitment and hiring, compensation (incl. wages and benefits), working conditions and terms of employment, access to training, job assignment, promotion, termination of employment or retirement, or disciplinary practices

Women and men shall receive equal remuneration for work of equal value

Human resources management policies shall set out measures to prevent and address violence, harassment, intimidation and/or exploitation

Where national law is inconsistent with this para., carry out activities in a manner that is consistent with benchmark standards to extent possible

Special measures of protection and assistance to remedy discrimination or selection for a particular job based on the inherent requirements of the job shall not be deemed as discrimination

Provide appropriate measures of protection and assistance to address the vulnerabilities of project/programme workers, including specific groups of workers, such as women, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and young workers

Terms and conditions of employment of project/programme workers who are migrants (domestic or foreign) shall be the same or substantially equivalent to those of non-migrant project/programme workers performing the same type of work

7.11 Workers organizations

In countries where national law recognizes workers’ rights to form and to join workers’ organizations of their choosing and to bargain collectively without interference, the project/programme shall be implemented in accordance with national law

In such circumstances, the role of legally established workers’ organizations and legitimate workers’ representatives shall be respected and they will be provided with information needed for meaningful negotiation in a timely manner

Where national law restricts workers’ organizations, the responsible party shall not restrict project/programme workers from developing alternative mechanisms to express their grievances and protect their rights regarding working conditions and terms of employment and shall not seek to influence or control these alternative mechanisms. The responsible party shall not discriminate or retaliate against project/programme workers who participate, or seek to participate, in such workers’ organizations and collective bargaining or alternative mechanisms

7.12 Forced labour Forced labour, which consists of any work or service not voluntarily performed that is exacted from an individual under threat of force or penalty, shall not be used in connection with the project/programme

This prohibition covers any kind of involuntary or compulsory labour, such as indentured labour, bonded labour, or similar labour-contracting

No trafficked persons shall be employed in connection with the programming activities

Where cases of forced labour are identified, immediate steps shall be taken to correct and remedy them

7.14 Child labour Child labour, which consists of employment of children below the minimum age of employment as defined by the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), shall not be used in connection with or arise from the programming activities

A minimum age for employment shall be specified in connection with the programming activities, as determined by national law and consistent with the ILO Convention No. 138

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Regardless of the minimum age for employment, a child under the age of 18 may not perform work in connection with or arising from the programming activities which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm his/her health, safety or morals

In addition, a child under the age of 18 may not, in connection with the programming activities, perform work that is likely to interfere with his/her compulsory education or be harmful to his/her physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development

Where cases of child labour are identified, immediate steps shall be taken to correct and remedy them, including the rehabilitation and social integration of the child where necessary and appropriate

7.18 Occupational safety and health (OSH)

Necessary processes and measures that address the safety and health of project/programme workers shall be in place to support programming design, planning and implementation

Processes and measures may be encompassed and implemented through the responsible party’s OSH management system and shall address:

(a) Identification and assessment of potential hazards and risks, particularly those that could result in serious injury, ill health or death and those identified through worker health surveillance (b) Elimination of hazards and minimization of risks through the implementation of preventive and protective measures implemented in the following order of priority: elimination or substitution, engineering and organizational controls, administrative controls, and where residual hazards and risks cannot be controlled through these collective measures, provision of personal protective equipment at no cost to the worker (c) Safety and health training, including on the proper use and maintenance of personal protective equipment, at no cost to workers conducted by competent persons and the maintenance of training records (d) Recording and notification of occupational accidents and incidents and any resulting injuries, ill health or death (e) Emergency prevention and preparedness and response arrangements to emergency situations (f) Employment injury benefits and/or remedies for adverse impacts such as occupational injuries, disability, ill health or disease and death

All parties who employ or engage project/programme workers put in place the above safety and health processes and measures to prevent and protect workers from chemical, physical, biological and psychosocial hazards (including violence and harassment) and to establish and maintain safe and healthy workplaces including the work environment, organization, processes, tools machinery and equipment

Such parties shall actively consult and collaborate with project/programme workers and promote their understanding and participation in the implementation of safety and health measures, as well as provide them information, training and personal protective equipment

Mechanisms shall be used for consultation and participation of project/programme workers, such as worker safety representatives or joint worker-management safety and health committees

Workplace mechanisms shall be made available to report work situations that they believe are not safe or healthy and to remove themselves from a work situation they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to their life or health

Project/programme workers who remove themselves from such situations shall not be required to return to work until necessary remedial action to correct the situation has been taken, and shall not be retaliated against or otherwise subject to reprisal or negative action

Project/programme workers shall be provided with safe and healthy facilities appropriate to the circumstances of their work, including access to canteens, hygiene facilities, and appropriate areas for rest

Where accommodation services are provided to project/programme workers, policies shall be put in place and implemented on the management and quality of accommodation to protect and promote the health, safety, and well-being of the project/programme workers, and to provide access to or provision of services that accommodate their physical, social and cultural needs

Where more than one party are employing or engaging workers and such workers are working together in one location, the parties shall collaborate in applying the OSH measures, without prejudice to the responsibility of each party for the safety and health of its own workers

Design and implementation of OSH measures shall be reviewed and necessary action taken in the event of significant changes in the working conditions or workers

A process for conducting accident investigations and regular evaluation of preventive and protective measures and OSH performance shall be put in place and necessary corrective actions shall be adopted based on the results of such investigations and evaluations

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7.24 Workplace grievance mechanism

A grievance mechanism shall be provided for all project/programme workers (and, where relevant, their organizations) to raise concerns of violations of existing rights/entitlements as provided for in legislation, collective agreements, employment contracts and human resources policies

Workers shall be informed of grievance mechanism at time of recruitment and measures put in place to protect them against any reprisal for its use

Measures shall be put in place to make the grievance mechanism easily accessible to all such project/programme workers

Grievance mechanism shall be designed to address workers’ concerns promptly, using an understandable, transparent process that provides timely feedback to those concerned in a language they understand, without any retribution, and shall operate in an independent and objective manner

Grievance mechanism may utilize existing grievance mechanisms, providing they are properly designed/implemented, address concerns promptly, and are readily accessible. Existing grievance mechanisms may be supplemented as needed with project/programme-specific arrangements

Grievance mechanism shall not impede access to other judicial or administrative remedies that might be available under the law or through existing arbitration procedures, or substitute for grievance mechanisms provided through collective agreements

The mechanism shall ensure workers’ rights to be present and to participate directly in the proceedings and to be represented by a trade union or person of their choosing

7.27 Contractor/Third Party Workers

Conduct due diligence to ascertain that third parties who engage project/programme workers are legitimate and reliable entities and have in place human resources management policies and processes and applicable OSH management systems that allow them to operate in accordance with the benchmark standards herein

Establish procedures for managing and monitoring the performance of such third parties in relation to the benchmark standards provided in this thematic area, including their incorporation into contractual agreements, together with appropriate noncompliance remedies

For subcontracting, require such third parties to include equivalent requirements and remedies in their contractual agreements with subcontractors

Contractor workers shall have access to a grievance mechanism. Where the third party employing or engaging the workers is not able to provide an easily accessible grievance mechanism, the grievance mechanism provided to direct project/programme workers shall be made available

7.30 Primary Supplier Workers

Identify potential risks of violations of supplier workers’ fundamental rights and safety and health issues which may arise in relation to primary suppliers (at a minimum), requiring the primary supplier to identify those risks

Establish roles and responsibilities for monitoring primary suppliers

If child labour, forced labour or breaches of other fundamental rights identified, require primary supplier to take appropriate steps to remedy them

Where primary supplier workers are exposed to hazards that present a risk of serious injury, ill health or death, require the relevant primary supplier to introduce procedures and mitigation measures to address such safety and health issues. Such procedures and mitigation measures shall be reviewed periodically to ascertain their effectiveness

The ability to address these risks shall depend upon the responsible party’s level of control or influence over its primary suppliers

Where prevention and remedy are not possible, shift the project/programme’s primary suppliers to suppliers that can demonstrate that they are meeting the relevant benchmark standards herein

Where there is imminent danger of serious injury, ill health or death to workers, the responsible party shall exercise its control or influence to stop the operation concerned until such time as the primary supplier can demonstrate that it can control the hazard in a manner consistent with the benchmark standards herein

Thematic Area 8: Pollution Prevention and Resource Efficiency

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8.2 Objectives Avoid and minimize adverse impacts on human health and the environment from pollution

Promote more sustainable and efficient use of resources, including energy, land and water

Avoid or minimize programming-related emissions of short and long-lived climate pollutants and ozone-depleting substances

Avoid or minimize generation of hazardous and non-hazardous substances and wastes, and promote a human rights-based approach to the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes

Promote safe, effective, environmentally sound pest management

Avoid and minimize adverse impacts on human health and the environment from pollution

8.3 Pollution prevention Avoid, and if not possible, minimize and control the intensity and flow of pollutants from routine, non-routine, and accidental releases

Establish preventive measures wherever possible and ensure that application of pollution prevention and control technologies are consistent with good international practice throughout the programming life-cycle

Use performance levels/measures specified in national law or in good international practice, whichever more stringent; if less stringent measures appropriate, fully justify chosen alternative in assessment process, demonstrating that alternative is consistent with these benchmark standards

In addressing potential adverse impacts, consider ambient conditions and assimilative capacity of the environment, land use, proximity to ecologically sensitive areas, and the potential for cumulative impacts

If the programming activities will generate significant emissions in already degraded/polluted areas, adopt measures that avoid and minimize potential negative effects, including potential alternative locations

Control runoff of contaminated water from programming sites and ensure polluted wastewater is treated

8.4 Wastes Avoid, and if not possible, minimize generation of waste, and reuse, recycle, and recover wastes in a safe manner

Develop waste management plans where waste generation and handling may be significant

Waste materials must be treated and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner with control of emissions and residues

Utilize reputable contractors and ascertain if licensed disposal sites are being operated to acceptable standards; where this is not the case minimize waste sent to such sites and consider alternative disposal options

Obtain chain of custody documentation for third party disposal and ensure adherence to laws governing transboundary movement of wastes

8.5 Hazardous materials Avoid, and if not possible, minimize and control the use, release and community exposure to hazardous materials

Utilize less hazardous substitutes wherever possible, and where use of hazardous materials cannot be avoided, develop hazardous materials management and safety measures/plans per good international practice, and ensure that emergency response plans are in place

As part of the environmental and social risk assessment, consider potential impacts on human rights of potentially affected groups as well as differentiated effects and risks on men, women, children and older persons to potential exposure to hazardous materials

Consider the special vulnerabilities faced by workers as well as low-income communities, indigenous peoples and minorities

Do not support the manufacture, trade, or use of chemicals or hazardous substances subject to international bans, restrictions or phase-outs unless for acceptable purposes as defined by the conventions or protocols (e.g. Montreal Protocol, Minamata Convention, Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention)

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8.6 Resource efficiency Implement technically and financially feasible measures for improving efficient consumption of energy, water, raw materials and other resources

Apply good international practices to improve resource efficiency, including principles of cleaner production, green design, sustainable infrastructure and sustainable procurement where feasible

8.7 Water use and conservation

Where programming activities involve high demand for water resources, apply measures to reduce water use and ensure that such usage does not have significant adverse impacts on communities, other users, or on the environment and ecosystems

Assess cumulative impacts of water use and implement appropriate mitigation measures such as water demand management, efficiency measures, benchmarking usage, alternative supplies, resource contamination avoidance, mitigation of impacts on downstream users, and water use offsets

Apply good international practice for water conservation and efficiency, including for irrigation activities and wastewater usage

8.8 Pesticide use and management

Seek to avoid use of pesticides in supported activities

Utilize Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Vector Management (IVM) approaches

If after having considered such approaches recourse to pesticide use is deemed necessary, adopt safe, effective and environmentally sound pest management in accordance with the WHO/FAO International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management for the safe labelling, packaging, handling, storage, application and disposal of pesticides

Carefully consider hazards and select least toxic pesticides that are known to be effective, have minimal effects on non-target species and the environment, and minimize risks associated with development of resistance in pests and vectors

Develop a Pest Management Plan where use of a significant volume of pesticides is foreseen that demonstrates how IPM will be promoted to reduce reliance on pesticides and describes measures to minimize risks of pesticide use

Do not supply or use pesticides that contain active ingredients that are banned or restricted under applicable international treaties and agreements, or meet the criteria of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or reproductive toxicity as set forth by relevant international agencies

Users of any pesticides shall be trained to handle pesticides in a proper and responsible manner and utilize appropriate application equipment and adequate personal protective equipment

8.9 Participation, access to information and accountability

Ensure that the benchmark standards of the Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability thematic area are followed

Effectively and timely communicate all relevant information and facilitate the meaningful participation of potentially affected communities in relation to the design and implementation of pollution prevention and resource efficiency, as per good international practice

Ensure effective remedy for any adverse impacts on people and the environment, which may include remediation of contaminated sites, compensation, cessation of action/inaction that gives rise to impacts, provision of health care, dissemination of information to prevent recurrence